Sala Laurentina, Trapani

Sala Laurentina
Exterior view of the Sala Laurentina
Interactive map of the Sala Laurentina area
Former namesChurch of the Santissimo Sacramento
General information
TypeOratory; pastoral hall
LocationTrapani, Sicily, Italy, Via Generale Domenico Giglio
Coordinates38°00′56″N 12°30′27″E / 38.015478098537°N 12.50750344453883°E / 38.015478098537; 12.50750344453883
Completed
1698
Renovated2016
OwnerDiocese 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]

History

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]

Architecture

The building retains the structure of a former oratory, organised as a multi-level space. In addition to the main hall, further rooms are arranged on the upper floors, used for catechetical and parish activities. This layout reflects its historical function as a space for confraternal and pastoral use, later adapted for community and cultural purposes.[9]

Interior view of Specus Corallii (2016), Trapani

Specus Corallii

Antonino Cardillo was commissioned to redesign the oratory, which reopened after renovation in 2016. The initiative was promoted by parish priest Gaspare Gruppuso, who emphasised the need to give the space a renewed cultural and social purpose.[10]

The renovation transforms the oratory into a grotto-like interior inspired by Trapani's maritime and coral-working traditions. Coral-coloured surfaces made from calcarenite, sand and pozzolana give the walls and ceiling a rough, layered texture that recalls natural coastal caves. Light entering through the existing windows highlights these irregular surfaces and brings out shifting shadows and tones throughout the day.[13]

Symbolic elements reinforce the theme of refuge and journey. At the centre of the floor, a wooden inlay shaped like a moored boat suggests arrival and rest. A sequence of low arches at the entrance evokes the rhythm of waves, while the vaulted ceiling, finished in coarse granular plaster, refers to ancient cave architecture and ideas of protection.[13]

Cardillo’s design presents the hall as a contemporary "specus" — a chamber of memory where material, light and mythological references reflect Trapani’s long connection with the sea.[13]

See also

Other sites in Trapani related to the city's history of coral fishing:

  • Former Fish Market – 19th-century seafront market pavilion
  • Former Ice Factory – 19th-century industrial ice plant on the northern waterfront
  • Santa Lucia – historic church associated with coral fishermen near the seafront
  • San Liberale – former church near the Ligny Tower built by coral fishermen

References

  1. ↑ "Specus Corallii". Antonino Cardillo – Works. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Le confraternite". Processione dei Misteri di Trapani (in Italian). Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  3. ↑ Serraino, Mario (1968). Trapani nella vita civile e religiosa (PDF) (in Italian). Trapani: Cartograf. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  4. ↑ Di Ferro, Giuseppe Maria (1825). Guida per gli stranieri in Trapani: con un saggio storico [A Guide for Foreigners to Trapani: With a Historical Essay] (in Italian). Trapani: Pietro Mannone e Solina. p. 273.
  5. ↑ Storia di Trapani [History of Trapani] (PDF) (in Italian). Vol. II. Trapani Nostra. p. 246. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  6. 1 2 Abate, Giuseppe. "Chiesa del Santissimo Sacramento". Trapani raccontata per immagini [Trapani told through images] (PDF) (in Italian). Trapani: Trapani Nostra. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "AIR 27 – Operations Record Books (ORBs)". The National Archives (UK). Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  8. ↑ St. Clair, William (2017). "Twelfth Air Force: 1942–1945" (PDF). Office of Air Force History, U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 "Trapani, riapre la Sala Laurentina" [Trapani, Sala Laurentina reopens]. Diocesi di Trapani (in Italian). 5 October 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Trapani, la Sala Laurentina riapre dopo vent'anni" [Trapani, Sala Laurentina reopens after twenty years]. La Sberla (in Italian). 5 October 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
  11. ↑ "Un «fine settimana» a fianco dei più deboli" [A "weekend" alongside the most vulnerable] (PDF). Giovani Chiesa Cattolica Italiana (in Italian). Avvenire. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  12. ↑ "Conclusa la mostra "Ori e argenti della Settimana Santa"" [Exhibition “Gold and silver of Holy Week” concluded]. Unione Maestranze di Trapani (in Italian). 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 Gottardo, Francesca (2017). "Specus Corallii: The haven of memory". Abitare la Terra. XVI (41). Gangemi Editore: 44–46.
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