San Francesco di Sales, Neoclassical church building in Valdocco district, Turin, Italy.
San Francesco di Sales is a neoclassical church in the Valdocco neighborhood featuring a striking colonnade of six Corinthian granite columns and a grand staircase at the entrance. The interior follows a geometric floor plan with a large circular chamber crossed by a central cross, topped by a dome that fills the main space with light.
The Adoratrici Perpetue del Santissimo Sacramento arrived in Turin in 1839 and settled in Borgo Nuovo. On 11 April 1843 Queen Maria Cristina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies donated land for a church dedicated to Saint Francis de Sales, built to Alfonso Dupuy's design between 1843 and 1850. Carlo Alberto visited during construction and praised its architecture. The church was consecrated on 30 March 1850 by Alessio Billet; the pronaos was completed only in 1874 to a design by Carlo Ceppi, with funds raised for the façade by Abbot Massimiliano Bardesono di Rigras.
The church is also called "delle Sacramentine" after the Adoratrici Perpetue del Santissimo Sacramento, the nuns who arrived in Turin in 1839 and settled in Borgo Nuovo at the invitation of aristocratic ladies. The right chapel holds altars of Saint Joseph and Our Lady of Sorrows with a minor altar of the Sacred Heart of Mary; the left chapel has altars of Saint Francis de Sales and the Madonna della Concezione. The altarpieces are by Marabotti of Mondovì.
The church sits at ground level with clear street access and the wide front staircase makes it easy to spot from the surrounding area. Visitors should dress modestly as it remains an active place of worship with regular services and community activities.
The bell tower stands apart from the church, its lower part absorbed into an adjoining building, and its ring of bells has yet to be properly studied. The six Corinthian columns of the facade are granite, set on a wide flight of steps in the manner of a propylaeum.
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