Santi Pietro e Paolo: A Late Gothic Collegiate Church in Carmagnola
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Italy
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- Duchy of Savoy, Italian, Kingdom of Sardinia
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Church
On this page14 sections
History
Santi Pietro e Paolo is a Roman Catholic collegiate church in Carmagnola, Italy, built in the Late Gothic period and dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. Saint Peter was one of Jesus’s principal apostles and was traditionally regarded as the first bishop of Rome, while Paul of Tarsus was an early Christian missionary and author of several New Testament epistles. As a collegiate church, Santi Pietro e Paolo is served by a chapter, or community, of canons rather than functioning as a cathedral. It belongs to the Archdiocese of Turin and remains an active place of worship.
Foundation and completion
The project was strongly promoted by the community of Carmagnola and received financial support from Ludovico I, Marquis of Saluzzo. Pope Sixtus IV granted permission in January 1474, but construction began later. The foundation stone was laid in 1492 in the presence of Margherita di Cominges, the marquis’s sister.
In 1497, the local chapter placed supervision of the work in the hands of Giorgino Costanza of Costigliole, a noble canon and architect. He directed construction until the church was principally completed in 1512. Monsignor Vacca consecrated it on 25 March 1514 as the delegate of the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Saluzzo. An apostolic administrator is appointed to govern a diocese temporarily or under exceptional circumstances when it does not have its ordinary bishop, and decorative work at Santi Pietro e Paolo was still unfinished at the time of the consecration.
Later alterations and continued worship
The church changed substantially after its medieval construction. A Baroque bell tower was added toward the end of the seventeenth century, and the sacristy was redecorated in the eighteenth century. The main facade was remodeled between 1893 and 1896 in the Neo-Gothic style, a later revival of Gothic forms. During the twentieth century, the interior was rigorously returned to a Gothic appearance.
The church continues to serve its religious community. Each year, a statue of the Immaculate Virgin and Child is carried in procession for the feast celebrated on 8 December.
Remains
Santi Pietro e Paolo has a three-aisled basilican plan, with a central nave flanked by lower aisles. The building is constructed of brick and combines its Late Gothic structure with later additions and furnishings. Its surviving elements include the medieval wall fabric, a polygonal apse with a ribbed vault, a later bell tower, and chapels and artworks accumulated over several centuries.
Exterior and principal structure
Nave and apse
The central nave is divided into six rectangular bays, each a repeated spatial unit between structural supports. At its eastern end, it terminates in a polygonal apse covered by a ribbed vault, a vaulted ceiling reinforced by projecting ribs. The apse has Late Gothic external buttresses and windows framed with terracotta. Part of the original church wall also survives along Via Gardezzana.
Facade and bell tower
The main facade faces Piazza Giuseppe Verdi. Alessio Ragazzoni, an engineer from Turin, designed the facade, which was executed between 1893 and 1896 in the Neo-Gothic style. It was originally completed in exposed natural brick, although the later remodeling partly compromised that appearance. The bell tower visible today belongs to the Baroque rebuilding carried out in the late seventeenth century.
Interior chapels and furnishings
High altar and apse windows
The marble high altar was designed in 1726 by Francesco Gallo of the Monregalese area. The stained-glass windows in the apse were made in 1907 by the German workshop of Heinrich Oidtmann, following a design by Giuseppe Rooster of Turin. Together, these elements represent later interventions within the church’s medieval architectural framework.
Chapel of the Immaculate Conception
The Chapel of the Immaculate Conception has an elaborate decorative scheme and contains a painting of the Assumption of the Virgin by Guglielmo Caccia, known as Moncalvo. Caccia was an Italian painter active in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The painting was originally created for the church of San Bernardino in Carmagnola.
Chapel of the Rosary
The Chapel of the Rosary is decorated with stucco by Domenico Beltramelli. Stucco is a moldable plaster used for architectural decoration. The chapel also contains two large canvases showing the Adoration of the Magi and the Adoration of the Shepherds.
Chapel of the Most Holy Crucifix
The Chapel of the Most Holy Crucifix was built in 1677 on the orders of Canon Ludovico Telesio, a knight of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus. This dynastic chivalric order was associated with the House of Savoy.
Chapel of Corpus Christi
The Chapel of Corpus Christi was completed in 1545 and is described as the church’s oldest chapel. It contains a painting of the Deposition from the Cross, adding a sixteenth-century devotional feature to the interior.
Wooden works and sculpture
The church preserves a seventeenth-century cycle of wooden works, including a pulpit and choir designed by Giovanni Bartolomeo and Benedetto Tiffnera. It also contains a sculpture of the Immaculate Virgin and Child attributed to Michele Enaten of Asti. The sculpture is associated with the same devotional subject as the statue carried in the annual 8 December procession.
