Rome Italy Temple


The Rome Italy Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Rome, Italy. The temple serves church members in Italy, as well as Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Albania and parts of Romania. LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson initially announced the temple in 2008, a groundbreaking took place in 2010, and the temple opened with a dedication in 2019.

History

On 4 October 2008, Monson announced plans to build a temple in Rome, Italy. The temple site was purchased by the LDS Church during the late 1990s and was originally the site of a home; which was razed during the fall of 2009. In preparation for the construction, and as part of the permit process, all potential building sites in Rome must undergo a search for ancient Roman ruins by digging trenches every 10 to 15 feet apart across the entire property. Following the search for ruins on the temple property, it was announced that none were found, and construction would be permitted.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the temple was held 23 October 2010, with Monson presiding. Only invited guests were allowed to be at the groundbreaking, but to allow all members to participate the ceremony was rebroadcast to LDS meetinghouses in Italy the following day. Dignitaries at the groundbreaking included Vice Mayor of Rome, Giuseppe Ciardi, Italian senator Lucio Malan, along with Monson, William R. Walker, and Erich W. Kopischke of the LDS Church.
On March 29, 2018, the LDS Church announced that a public open house would be held from January 28 through February 16, 2019, excluding Sundays.
All 15 of the LDS Church apostles attended the temple's dedication. This is believed to be the first time the entire First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were in the same location outside the United States.
The temple was formally dedicated in three sessions on March 10, 2019 by LDS Church president Russell M. Nelson, with two more sessions planned for each of the following two days.
In 2020, the Rome Italy Temple was closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Location

The temple occupies part of a LDS Church-owned site near the Grande Raccordo Anulare ring road skirting Cinquina in the northeast of Rome. This site is located in Rome's III municipio, along the via di Settebagni.
The temple’s campus includes a church meetinghouse, a visitors’ center, a Family History Center, a piazza, guest housing, and landscaped gardens and fountains. The visitors' center houses a copy of Bertel Thorvaldsen's Christus statue, as well as copies of his twelve apostle statues found in the Lutheran Church of Our Lady cathedral in Copenhagen.