The first historical references related to the city of Carmagnola date back to the year 1000, under Arduinic jurisdiction. During the 12th century, it was subjected to the Marquisate of Saluzzo, experiencing a period of development when – owing to its strategic position – it increased its commercial and cultural importance. From the 1500s, Carmagnola suffered a decline marked by invasions, plundering, and plagues. During the 1522 epidemic, the people of Carmagnola made an initial vow of devotion to the Immaculate Virgin. With the victory of the French over the Spaniards in the battle of Ceresole (1544), the rule of the Marquises of Saluzzo ended, followed by forty years of French occupation. With the construction of a second defensive wall with ramparts, Carmagnola became a fortified stronghold. The city then passed under the Savoy reign in 1588 when Carlo Emanuele I di Savoia took it from the French, who reconquered it in the seventeenth century. In June 1630, Carmagnola suffered a second plague epidemic that led the citizens to renew their vow to the Virgin. In 1691, the city returned under the Savoys, thanks to Vittorio Amedeo II. Carmagnola’s strategic importance diminished following the demolition of the fortifications, giving rise to agricultural and commercial development that, through the post-World War II industrialization period, has accompanied it to the present day. Today, Carmagnola has over 28,000 inhabitants and is an established agricultural, commercial, and service center.
Places of Interest
The Cistercian Abbey of Santa Maria di Casanova, one of the early examples of Gothic architecture in Piedmont, with Baroque alterations.
The Church of the Collegiate of SS. Pietro and Paolo (1514), in a Gothic-Romanesque style altered during the Baroque period. Remarkable is the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, extraordinarily decorated, dedicated to the Virgin following the 1630 vow.
The Church of the Confraternity of S. Rocco, established in 1630 to assist plague victims, using bricks from the defensive wall.
The Church of Sant’Agostino, built between 1406 and 1437, featuring a Gothic-style apse, east side, and bell tower.
Casa Cavassa, a noble palace from the 15th century, with a courtyard loggia, frescoed halls with coffered ceilings, terracotta architectural friezes, and frescoes on the main facades. Extraordinary is the monochrome “triumphal procession of elephants” dating back to the early 16th century, visible from Via Benso.
The House of Sundials, with an extraordinary array of frescoes depicting pagan and Christian allegorical images, mottos, symbols, and decorative friezes, created between 1555-1557 and designed for the three sundials inserted.
The Synagogue: created in the second half of the eighteenth century on the first floor of an early-century private house, in what was the Jewish ghetto for several centuries, it remained operational until 1938 and has retained its original configuration.
Following in Don Bosco’s footsteps
Don Bosco in Carmagnola
Don Bosco often went to preach in Carmagnola, the birthplace of his student Michele Magone (Carmagnola, 19/09/1845 – Turin, 21/01/1859), a significant figure in the history of Salesian pedagogy, who died at thirteen and is remembered as one of the three boys (alongside Domenico Savio and Francesco Besucco) whose lives the saint wrote about.