Update: See more of the mosaics in this post from February of 2021.

What better time to go out to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville? It is dedicated to a snowstorm that hit the Esquiline Hill in Rome centuries ago during the spring.

Apparently the giant concrete spire above the shrine represents the letter “M” for Mary. I was sort of disappointed to discover this; I was happier when it looked purely abstract in form.

The high altar, sitting under the brow of the giant curving roof.

Modernist ecclesiastic architecture succeeds when it does not attempt to copy ancient forms, but rather when it pushes into new territory of form and composition made possible by new technology such as steel and concrete.

The back side, facing away from the amphitheater, has a couple of chapels and an entrance to the parking lot.

The door below enters into the Mary Chapel; I really enjoyed these doors since they harken back to giant bronze and silver doors I have seen in Rome or Amalfi, Italy.

I like the non-traditional nature of Modernist religious art; it abandons classical models in favor of a more primitive age in Christianity.