Chiesa di Santa Maria della Scala, Moncalieri, Gothic church in Moncalieri, Italy

The church of Santa Maria della Scala has a facade of exposed brick divided by pilasters topped with pinnacles, with a Baroque portal and a rose window from 1857. Its interior has four naves, a 18th-century presbytery, and a 15th-century sandstone group of the Lamentation of Christ.

The first mention of a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary dates to 1232, when the village of Moncalieri grew around it. Construction of the larger church stalled for lack of funds until Bishop Teodisio Revelli donated a large sum on 6 May 1318; the building was finished around 1330. A bell tower and an extra nave were added in the 15th century, and in the 19th century Angelo Moia painted the neo-Gothic frescoes.

The church is also known as Santa Maria della Scala and Sant'Egidio and serves as Moncalieri's duomo and a parish seat in the Turin South-East pastoral district. Its chapels hold the fifteenth-century sandstone Lamentation of Christ and the choir stalls carved by Antonio Riva in 1749.

The site is open to visitors interested in religious architecture and medieval art. You can explore the interior during daytime hours, though remember that it remains an active place of worship where prayer times may affect access.

Angelo Moia created the neo-Gothic frescoes in the nineteenth century, adding an artistic layer that visitors often miss when focusing on the medieval elements. These wall paintings form a visual bridge between the building's medieval roots and later aesthetic preferences.