In 1986 the original 350-year-old church in this small hamlet of Mogno, together with several uninhabited houses, was destroyed by an avalanche. This is the modern replacement built in the 1990s and designed by the Ticinese architect Mario Botta.
The controversial design has a glass roof but no windows and incorporates alternating layers of native white Peccia marble and grey Vallemaggia granite.
The outside curvature of the building appears to be shaped to withstand future avalanches.
