Santa Maria del Monte dei Cappuccini

A Baroque Chapel Above the City

Begun in 1584 to a design by Ascanio Vitozzi and consecrated in 1656, this Capuchin church sits atop the Monte dei Cappuccini, a roughly 300-metre hill rising just beyond the right bank of the Po. Carlo Emanuele I of Savoy donated the land to the Capuchin friars, and the building was raised on a central Greek-cross plan beneath a domed octagonal tambour, with a high altar completed by Carlo and Amedeo di Castellamonte between 1634 and 1637.

Because of its elevated position, the church and the terrace in front of it are one of the most sweeping viewpoints over Torino, looking back across the Po toward the city centre and, on clear days, to the Alps beyond. It's a quieter, steeper counterpart to the Gran Madre di Dio just down the hill.