Pulcherada Abbey, Turin, Italy

The Church of Saint Mary of Pulcherada, most commonly known as Pulcherada Abbey, began to be built between the 6th and 8th century AD on what used to be a Roman encampment. The first section to be built was the apse, and the main building was completed between 1029 and 1031. The bell tower was built within the next 200 years, and was built to be disproportionally taller than the rest of the building, which suggests it might have had defense purposes. The abbey became a center around which a village would start to form and eventually grow to become what is now the comune of San Mauro Torinese.

Before the 17th century, the abbey took up the terrain of what are currently the city hall and the church. The abbey contained gardens, fields for cultivation, a mill, a bakery, and a variety of artisanal workshops. In 1665, because of decay, abbot Petrino Aghemio chose to demolish a large portion of the complex, greatly reducing the size of the abbey. In 1803, the few monks present moved to the nearby abbey of San Quintino di Spigno, and thus Pulcherada Abbey was officially closed down the same year by order of Pope Pius VII. Since then, the former abbey has been used exclusively as a church.

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User Reviews

Stefano Cucchi (5 years ago)
Beautiful ancient Abbey of San Mauro which takes the ancient name of the village Pulchra Rada, which meant "beautiful bay, beautiful beach, beautiful harbor". In fact, this has always been a beautiful area and in the past it was also a tourist vacation spot. The current name San Mauro derives instead from the name of the abbot of the abbey who became a saint. And the two names Pulcherada and San Mauro have therefore exchanged ?

Joseph Martinico (6 years ago)
Superb church in San Mauro Torinese, just outside Turin.

Ladysant 63 (6 years ago)
I expected more. Badly kept inside and out with wild buildings around and attacked. On the whole, however, it has its own reason.

PierGiorgio Terzuolo (7 years ago)
Ancient Benedictine abbey, later a parish, with a Romanesque apse from the 8th century decorated with recently discovered and enhanced 11th century frescoes; interiors radically transformed in the Baroque period, not restored.

Ravi Teja Reddy Chinthala (8 years ago)
Great place to visit on a weekend, simple yet beautiful!!

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