Santuario di San Felice, Parabiago

The sanctuary of San Felice is a church of modern construction within the historic center of Parabiago and depends on the parish of Saints Gervasius and Protasius. It was open for worship from the late 1940s until 1995, when the rector Marco Ceriani died, after which it was closed to the public. Very few religious services are currently held there.

On May 15, 1926, Senator Felice Gajo, signed a will in which he left his wife, Ida Lampugnani, the task of building a church after his death on December 31, 1935.

The project, entrusted to architect Giovanni Maggi, who succeeded in making the appearance of both a "mausoleum" in honor of the deceased and a place of worship for the local population, depicted a single-nave temple 39 m long and 12 m wide, with a huge square dome of the appearance of an imposing 38 m high mole, composed of 48 columns of white granite from Baveno.

The laying of the foundation stone took place on May 30, 1940, by Cardinal Schuster; the same Cardinal consecrated it on October 2, 1947, more than a year after its completion. When the work was completed, the facade was set back from the small churchyard, with a large niche above the main door, inside which is a statue of St. Felix Martyr by Dante Parini. Internally, the large nave is embellished with four columns in Alpi green and the altar in a central position.

However, within a few years of its consecration, the mammoth dome could not support its weight and at about 11 p.m. on January 20, 1950, it inexorably collapsed without claiming any victims, given the late hour the church was already closed to the public; immediately the architect Fernando Zanda was commissioned to design a new dome, still square and surrounded by columns, but much smaller than the previous one.

Inside, the church holds frescoes by Vanni Rossi, other sculptures and bas-reliefs by Parini, the Madonna of the Most Holy Rosary painting above the side altar of the same name and the 15 illuminated Mysteries on copper by Primo Lavagnini, a bronze bust of the Senator sculpted by Silvio Monfrini, and stained glass windows by Aristide Albertella. The shrine is devoid of bells.