World’s largest Church of Scientology Ideal Org opens Saturday in Milan, Italy.

The former headquarters of Philips and computer company Sun has been converted into a 10,000 square meter Scientology church.

The five-story, four-building, 258-window edifice, whose area is only a few hundred meters’ shy of 10,000, overlooks the street and parking interchange to Bignami, and has a tree-filled inner courtyard. The new Scientology “Ideal Org,” called such according to the church’s nomenclature, will be at the entrance of the city, coming from Sesto San Giovanni. The church opening is on Saturday, October 31.

The building is adorned with celebratory red ribbons, the insignia of the religious organization as created by founder and American Author L. Ron Hubbard, and the church’s eight-pointed cross. The logo features the S of Scientology and the ARC and KRC triangles, which stand for Affinity, Reality and Communication and Knowledge, Responsibility and Control, respectively. These concepts are an essential part of the religion’s body of beliefs and practices, which, as one would discover upon deeper study, is a body of knowledge that touches open various aspects of daily life.

The church will be located at 327 Viale Fulvio Testi, and is surrounded by automotive dealers, hotels and business centers. The opening comes as a surprise to most workers and individuals who frequent the area. According to Italian online publication Corriere Della Sera, the rise of the new Scientology location was unbeknownst to them until recently, as the headquarters of Sun Microsystems was empty for a few years following the annexation of the Oracle company. A neighborhood meeting was held last year, however, to inform nearby residents of the project. The property is valued at between 25 and 30 million euros, and will be a central place of worship for Scientologists in the city and surrounding districts.

The construction of the massive structure is the Church of Scientology’s response to the rapid growth of the religion in the city. The church’s Communication Manager in Milan asserts that the population of the faithful at the Scientology Church in Lepontina, Farini was “about to explode.” As a result, the religious organization had to search for new areas of expansion and push mobility to landmarks of great visibility. Hence, the Scientology Ideal Church in Milan was strategically built at the entrance of the city.

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