Hidden away in south-west Florida is the extraordinary Catholic town of Ave Maria. Built on the outskirts of the city of Naples, the college town has a towering Oratory church at its centre. A 30ft sculpture of the Annunciation sits above its majestic doors. The town is a miniature Catholic paradise, with a Catholic university and local shops selling icons and devotional books.
Ave Maria owes its grandeur to a rather humble substance: pizza. The community’s founder, Tom Monaghan, is the former CEO of Domino’s Pizza, a chain which he sold in 2004, investing the profits in this singular project.
