Baldissero Torinese has over 3,700 inhabitants and is located 14 km from Turin.
The first settlement – of ancient origins – is traced back to the current Bric Paluch, previously called Malloch, and later Albacherio or Alba Cherii. Dominated in medieval times by the Order of St. Leonard, it was destroyed, and the inhabitants scattered to Superga, Rivodora, and the present historical center, where a castle was built, corresponding to the current Church of S. Maria della Spina. In the feud, first subject to Chieri and from 1694 a free commune, the dynasties of the Benso and the Counts Fontanella succeeded.
Today, the village consists of various hamlets, each with its own chapel (San Quirico, San Giuliano, San Grato, Toetto, and Rivodora), and numerous other residential clusters called “Tetti” (Barbasso, Berruto, Chiapasso, Coggiola, Collo, Colombaro, Ghirone, None, Pietraforata, Piola, Ronchi, and Valentino), which originated from the dispersion of the initial population in the area of Bric Paluch, creating independent socio-economic communities.
Places of Interest
The parish Church of S. Maria della Spina, a striking example of Piedmontese Baroque with an octagonal plan, built starting from 1717 – where an ancient castle once stood – at the behest of the Count Fontanella of Baldissero. It houses two valuable works from 1660, a wooden crucifix, and an altarpiece depicting S. Domenico and S. Chiara at the feet of the Virgin with the Child. The organ with 636 pipes, kept in the choir (1851), is noteworthy.
The seventeenth-century Chapel of Toetto – dedicated to the Blessed Virgin of Grace – dating back to the 18th century, with a vault decorated with nineteenth-century frescoes.
The ancient Community Well, shaped like an hourglass with an external structure resembling a canopy; over 42 meters deep, it was the sole source of water for the historical center of Baldissero until 1959.
The Spring of San Genesio, with clear and fresh water, near the Rivodora cemetery.