Gran Madre di Dio Turin

"The Church of the Gran Madre di Dio is located in the square of the same name on the right bank of the Po River, opposite Piazza Vittorio Veneto and the Vittorio Emanuele I Bridge. Designed by architect Ferdinando Bonsignore in neoclassical style, it is clearly inspired by the Pantheon in Rome, albeit on a smaller scale. Its construction, begun on July 23, 1818, with the laying of the cornerstone by Vittorio Emanuele I, was completed in 1831 during the reign of Carlo Felice, commissioned by the city government to celebrate the return of Vittorio Emanuele I after the fall of Napoleon. Indeed, on the tympanum of the pronaos is the epigraph: "Ordo populusque taurinus ob adventum regis," coined by Latinist Michele Provana del Sabbione, meaning "The nobility and people of Turin for the arrival (and, curiously, not "the return") of the king." After a decade-long interruption, construction resumed in 1827 under Charles Felix and was completed in 1831 under Charles Albert. The building sits on a high plinth, accessible via a dramatic staircase. The pronaos features six frontal and four lateral Corinthian columns, and the tympanum features a marble high relief from 1827, attributed to Francesco Somaini, depicting the Virgin and Child receiving homage from Turin's decurions. At the base of the staircase, on high plinths, two imposing allegorical figures, Faith and Religion, sculpted by Carlo Chelli, are often mistaken for Marian representations. At the foot of the staircase stands a colossal statue of Victor Emmanuel I, the work of Giuseppe Gaggini. Begun in 1849, it was completed in 1869 at the behest of Victor Emmanuel II and solemnly installed only in 1885. The church, which lacks a bell tower, has a freestanding bell tower built in 1830 near the oratory and parish offices. The interior, with a single nave and a circular plan, has an east-facing high altar, framed by red porphyry columns. Artist Andrea Galassi created the statue of the Great Mother of God with Child, surrounded by golden rays. The decoration at the base of the dome includes sculpted garlands and bas-reliefs depicting episodes from the life of the Virgin, based on models by Carlo Finelli. The most distinctive element is the dome itself, considered a masterpiece of Piedmontese neoclassicism. Characterized by five tiers of decreasing octagonal coffers, it is entirely made of concrete and culminates in an oculus over three meters in diameter, designed to illuminate the statue of St. John the Baptist, the city's patron saint, on June 24th. In the basement, a crypt designed by Giovanni Ricci houses the Shrine to the Fallen of the First World War, inaugurated in 1932 in the presence of Benito Mussolini. A curious fact: in the 19th century, the area in front of the churchyard was used to display the corpses of beggars and unknown persons awaiting identification. According to completely unfounded legends, the church was built on an ancient Egyptian temple dedicated to the goddess Isis, and the statue of Faith, holding a book and a chalice, represents the Madonna gazing at the place where the Holy Grail is kept. Folklore aside, the Gran Madre church is a monument of unquestionable historical and artistic value, representing the city's greatest example of neoclassical style and one of the very symbols of Turin."

Andrea

"The outside was covered in scaffolding, but that's necessary sometimes. The inside is very nice. Very clean and tidy."

Sjoerd Bouma

"Beautiful on the outside, not so much on the inside.
The view of Via Po from the top of the steps is spectacular."

Marco