Gran Madre di Dio

A Pantheon on the Po

The Chiesa della Gran Madre di Dio was built to celebrate the return of the House of Savoy to Torino after the Napoleonic era. Designed by architect Ferdinando Bonsignore, construction began in 1818, paused for a long stretch, and finally concluded with the church's inauguration in 1831.

True to its neoclassical intent, the building is deliberately modelled on the Pantheon in Rome — a circular plan beneath a coffered dome Bonsignore based directly on the Roman original. It stands on the east bank of the Po directly facing Piazza Vittorio Veneto across the river, reached via the Ponte Vittorio Emanuele I, making it a natural stop on a walk along the water and up toward the hill.