Santa Maria Nuova a Casal Lumbroso is a later 20th century college and subsidiary parish church at Vicolo Casale Lumbroso 129, which is in the south of the suburb of Casal Lumbroso (note spelling), in between Via Aurelia and Via della Pisana and just west of junction 33 on the Grande Raccordo Anulare (Circonvallazione Orientale). This is in the Massimina suburban zone.
The dedication is to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and alludes to the old church of Santa Maria Nova (see Santa Francesca Romana).
This church is in the municipality of Rome, but belongs to the diocese of Porto Santa Rufina.
History
The church is attached to the Istituto Magarotto, which is a school specialising in the vocational teaching of deaf people. This was founded in Rome in 1950 by Antonio Magarotti, and moved here in 1959.
The church has a very low public profile (even info.roma hasn't noticed it), but it functions as a subsidiary church of the parish of Santa Maria Goretti a Casal Lumbroso. Its future depends on when, and where, the permanent church for that parish will be built (at present the main church is a hut).
Appearance
Layout and fabric
This is a rather small building on a rectangular plan, standing away from the road up a short driveway behind a locked gate (if you visit, use the main gate of the school and bear left). The driveway has a gate in green, with diapered metal mesh containing two crosses
The fabric consists of a simple reinforced concrete frame infilled with red brick which is partly rendered in white. The roof is in a grey composition, and has a transverse ridge-line about a third of the way down its length. The roof rises in a steeper pitch to this ridge-line, then slopes away more shallowly to a flat section which covers the sacristy at the back. There is a window strip under the ascending roofline behind the façade.
The right hand side has a subsidiary entrance -this might be the only one open.
Façade
The simple façade is occupied by an open rectangular porch occupying the entire frontage of the church. Within, the actual near front wall is rendered in white with a brick dado.
Over the flat roof of the porch is a vertical free-standing wall which bears two horizontal mandorlas in white piping, linking up with a hexagon in the middle which has incurved diagonal sides and contains a cross. This motif overall is meant to evoke two fishes -an ancient Christian symbol. The motif has light grey infill, with dark grey above and red brick below.
On the up-sloping roof behind is a gilded cross finial.
Interior
The writer has not been inside, and details of the interior are welcome.
Access and liturgy
According to the Diocese, Mass is celebrated on Saturdays at 18:00 and on Sundays at 11:30. Details of weekday Masses are not available.
To get here, catch the 028 bus from Aurelia train station.