Funerary chapel (1952) architect Domenico Soldiero Morelli, painter Felice Casorati
Construction date: 1952
Designer: architect Domenico Soldiero Morelli (1900 – 1998), engineer Giuseppe Raineri (1924 – 2007)
Painter: Felice Casorati (1883 – 1963)
Location: cimitero Monumentale di Torino, VII Ampliazione, campo della Gloria n.1
Typology: chapel with an underground chamber
Materials: Perosa stone, green marble, grey marble, glazed ceramic, concrete, bricks.
Skilled workers: Marble workers- Ditta Palmero di Perosa Argentina
“The tomb was built in 1952 on a project by the architect Domenico Soldiero Morelli, nephew of the famous painter of his namesake. It is a chapel with an above ground room. The static test was carried out by the engineer Giuseppe Raineri. The supporting structure, the joists and the lowered barrel vault are in reinforced concrete. The vault is covered externally with copper plates. The profile of the access portal is made of copper and the panels are made of safety glass, ie laminated glass.
The exterior of the closing wall of the rear façade, the intrados of the vault and the reinforced concrete joists are externally covered in light gray mosaic, whose tesserae are applied in an irregular manner. The architecture is simple and minimalist. Peculiar is the use of the covering material consisting of blocks of Perosa stone of size 10x10 cm worked with a rough surface. The working of the blocks gives an aspect of movement of the external profile accentuated also by the light and shadow effects.
The garden space, protected by a patinated iron grille made to order by the artist Felice Casorati, is the characteristic element of the architectural composition, a semi-open space that acts as a filter between the indoor environment inside the chapel and the outside. In 1984, the dealers requested the construction of 4 new niches, which were located inside the garden compartment, altering its original function. Subsequently, the Commission in charge of the Works in the Cemeteries, in 1984, established that: "the garden compartment was closed with two openable glass plates to allow the care of the niches in the back". Inside the chapel, in the back wall, there is a glazed ceramic painting made by the artist Felice Casorati entitled The Crucifixion. The Vatican Museums conserve the original work done in tempera on paper in 1945 and donated by the Cassa di Risparmio di Torino. Engineer Giuseppe Raineri is buried in the Monumental cemetery of Turin in the second extension fm 21. The stone materials have been worked by the Palmero company of Perosa Argentina. " Dr. Carlotta Melis