The Cappella Reale Espiatoria monument commemorating King Umberto I of Italy (1878-1900) was built by his son Vittorio Emanuele III on the location of his assassination in Monza by anarchist Gaetano Bresci on 29 July 1900.
The work, designed by Giuseppe Sacconi and completed by his pupil Guido Cirilli, was inaugurated in 29 July 1910, on the 10th anniversary of the King’s death. The building extends over two levels – chapel and crypt – which are decorated with Byzantine inspired mosaics featuring floral designs, saints and holy men from the House of Savoy, and the themes of the Resurrection. The crypt, which preserves the numerous floral funeral tributes sent from across the globe and cast in bronze, features a black marble block positioned in exactly the spot that Umberto I was assassinated.
A 35m stele in Oggiono stone completes the monument which is located at the heart of a wide park bounded by an art deco gate created by Alessandro Mazucottelli. An imposing exedra covered in multi-coloured mosaic tiles encloses the back of the monument. Completing the decoration are a monumental Pietà by the Milanese sculptor Ludovico Pogliaghi and bronze objects with highly symbolic value, such as the cushion above the stele where the sceptre, the Savoyard crown and the Collare dell’Annunziata, the highest Savoyard honour, are placed.
Cappella Reale Espiatoria
Via Matteo da Campione, 8, 20900 Monza (MB)
Tel: +39 039 380772
Email: pm-lom@beniculturali.it
