In Piazzale Italo Gemini, in the area that grew up towards the sea after the Second World War, stands the Church of the Immaculate Conception, a religious building with a distinctive octagonal plan and large alabaster rose windows.
During the economic boom, as San Felice became an increasingly popular resort, new buildings for social life were needed near the sea. The emblem of this new residential area was a place of worship dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The church was built on an octagonal plan with a large well-shaped bell tower. The entrance, reached by a long flight of steps, is protected by a colonnade and topped by large alabaster rose windows, a motif repeated on every side of the octagon, creating a romantic play of light inside. Above the church, on Mount Morrone, stands a statue of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception by the artist Angelo Gemini. Attached to the building is the convent of the Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of Priscilla.
The church was wanted, promoted and financed by Italo Gemini (the town’s historic mayor), helped by the then undersecretary Giulio Andreotti, who was very close to the community of San Felice. As with the new church of San Felice Martire, it was designed by the architect Clemente Busiri-Vici. The foundation stone was laid on 14 November 1953 and the church was consecrated less than a year later, on 19-20 June 1954, by Cardinal Borgoncini Duca and the diocesan bishop Emilio Pizzoni. Since the church was built, a Nativity scene with moving figures has been set up every Christmas behind the church, inside a small natural grotto.
