Monte degli Ulivi

Monte degli Ulivi (Mount of Olives) is a modernist architectural ensemble consisting of six buildings by architect Leonardo Ricci at the southeastern outskirts of the city of Riesi in Sicily.

It was built from 1963 to 1966 to house the Servizio Cristiano, an outreach centre founded in 1961 by the Waldensian pastor Tullio Vinay, which has been using and expanding it since.

The buildings are characterised by organic, curved monopitch roofs of white-plastered concrete, which stand out against angular walls of raw natural stone.

[1] The complex was classified as a historical monument in 2008 "for the singularity of the figurative language of informal inspiration and organic influence, the wise relationship with nature and landscape, the particular interpretation of a new idea of community and the design method of the author of undisputed design quality, a significant intervention in the panorama of contemporary architecture in Sicily".

[5] A description on the occasion of Ricci's 100th birthday concluded with the words, "the village of Monte degli Ulivi should be remembered as an experience of significant importance, an urban expression of the continuity of the actions of an entire community; an organism that lends itself to being lived in and where every inhabitant feels alive.