Sala Laurentina, Trapani
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| Sala Laurentina | |
|---|---|
,_Trapani.jpg) Exterior view of the Sala Laurentina | |
 Interactive map of the Sala Laurentina area | |
| Former names | Church of the Santissimo Sacramento |
| General information | |
| Type | Oratory; pastoral hall |
| Location | Trapani, Sicily, Italy, Via Generale Domenico Giglio |
| Coordinates | 38°00′56″N 12°30′27″E / 38.015478098537°N 12.50750344453883°E |
| Completed | 1698 |
| Renovated | 2016 |
| Owner | Diocese of Trapani |
Sala Laurentina is a three-storey building owned by the Diocese of Trapani in the historic centre of Trapani, Sicily. It is best known for housing Specus Corallii, an interior architecture project created in 2015–2016 by architect Antonino Cardillo, who draws on Trapani’s coral-working tradition and maritime setting, reinterpreted through a sculptural, immersive design.[1]
The building stands at the corner of Via Nunzio Nasi and Via Domenico Giglio, on the site of the former Church of the Santissimo Sacramento, an oratory associated with the Trapani Cathedral complex and with the Confraternity of the Most Holy Sacrament.[2]
The confraternity is documented in Trapani from at least 1535, when it was based at the church of San Matteo, before moving to other locations in the city.[3] Alongside its religious role, it carried out charitable work, including distributing bread to prisoners on major feast days.[2]
The Forty Hours' Devotion was introduced to the city in 1620, initially at the church of San Nicolò di Bari by decree of Pope Paul V.[4] The Pia Opera delle Quaranta Ore Circolari, a confraternal institution associated with the Confraternity of the Most Holy Sacrament and dedicated to this devotion, was founded in the same year and reorganised as a congregation in 1688.[5] A plaque on Via Giudecca commemorates this devotion.[6]
The baroque Church of the Santissimo Sacramento was completed and entrusted to the confraternity in 1698.[6] The building was severely damaged during the 1943 bombings carried out by the United States Army Air Forces and the Royal Air Force and subsequently declared irrecoverable.[7][8] Its ruins were cleared in the post-war years.
In the 1950s the Diocese of Trapani constructed a new three-storey pastoral hall on the site. In the following decades the building was used for community activities, including providing meals and support for newly arrived immigrants, as well as hosting cultural and recreational events. It was later deconsecrated.[9]
After nearly twenty years of disuse, the hall was restored by the Diocese and reopened in 2016 as a multifunctional pastoral centre serving the parishes of San Lorenzo and San Pietro.[10][9]
The hall is used for exhibitions, meetings, conferences and community events in the historic centre.[11][12]
