A church in Bergamo is to become a mosque amid suspicions of funding from Qatar.
The former church of the Ex-Riuniti complex in Bergamo has ended up in the hands of a Muslim association after a legal dispute with the Lombardy Region.
Church of the Ex-Riuniti, Bergamo
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The building in question is the former church of the Ospedali Riuniti of Bergamo, in the Monterosso district, built as a place of worship linked to the city's old public hospital. When the new Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital replaced the old complex, The church was left vacant and the public health company put it up for sale. by public auction.
The winning bid was that of the Associazione Musulmani di Bergamo, which He submitted a proposal of around €450,000, slightly above the starting price.. The award was formalised in 2019, with the declared intention of using the building as a place of worship and for activities of the local Islamic community.
The Lombard Region intervenes to save the church
The Lombardy Region decided to exercise its right of first refusal to prevent a Christian symbol from falling into Muslim hands. The association denounced that this action was unjustified and discriminatory, as reported by the Evening Courier.
Thus began a legal battle that has gone through several stages: the court of first instance, then the Court of Appeal of Brescia and finally the region's appeal to the Supreme Court. In the November 2025 ruling, the judges recognised that the region's claim was discriminatory. L'Eco di Bergamo reports that this is the end of the litigation begun in 2019, concluding with the church's ownership in the hands of the Muslim association.
Qatari money and a shadow of suspicion over Islamic financing
The controversy becomes even more explosive when Qatari money comes into play. In Bergamo, the name Qatar Charity Foundation has long loomed over the debate on mosques: This foundation allocated 5 million euros to finance a large Islamic cultural centre. and a place of worship in the city, in another property on Via San Fermo. Part of these funds ended up under judicial investigation, with accounts blocked and a portion of the money eventually returned to Qatar, which reopened the political debate about the origin of the resources and the influence of a Gulf state on local religious life.
Several parties, especially Fratelli d'Italia, have publicly called for “more clarity on the provenance of the funds” that finance the Islamic community's projects in Bergamo and have politically linked the case of the former Church of the Riuniti with the episode of the millions from Qatar. There is no evidence of the financing of this purchase (at a price above the starting price), but for many residents and political factions it is not normal for a church to end up in the hands of of a Muslim association that is part of an ecosystem funded from Qatar.
Christian identity, urban planning and the “anti-mosque” law”
The case of the former Church of the Riuniti cannot be understood without the legal and political context of Lombardy. For years, The Region has legislation known as the “anti-mosque law.”, which establishes very strict planning requirements for new places of worship, especially Muslim ones.
In this context, the purchase of a building has become an alternative for Muslim communities seeking a place of worship. This generates an obvious tension because Selling a church to a Muslim association contradicts the discourse of “protecting Christian identity.” of the region;
The fact that this initiative is being established in Rome, Italy's institutional capital and historic symbol of Christendom, adds even more tension to the debate. MuRo27 not only wants to participate but also He wants his religious identity to be a legitimate political criterion.. And this opens a path that could further fragment society, turning municipal politics into a battleground of identities rather than a common space for all citizens.
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