Auditorium Marilen

Marilen Holzhauser, from Trento, was part of the group of young women who started the Focolare Movement during the Second World War. She was among the first to follow Chiara and spent her life in different countries in Asia and Africa, where she lived for universal brotherhood. Her sense of harmony and beauty led Chiara Lubich to dedicate this meeting place to her.

The auditorium, shaped like an amphitheatre around the chapel dedicated to Bishop Carlo de Ferrari, is spacious and welcoming, immersed in the surrounding natural environment.

Architect Fumagalli, who planned the Mariapolis Centre, described its characteristics in this way: “I was looking for an image, and I found inspiration in two main concepts: a long cloak which, supported by the roof beams, converges towards the chapel, shaped like a truncated cone to underline its centrality, its being a cornerstone around which everything revolves.

Another group of beams departs from the pillar next to the platform, the place where the Word is announced and incarnated. This group of beams intersects with the cloak: the cloak is thus metaphorically ripped apart and allows the incarnated Word to get out and cast its light on humanity.”

The semi-circular structure makes the auditorium suitable for plenary meetings and events with a high number of participants.