CONFRATERNITY OF THE PIETY

The church of the Pietà, home to the confraternity by the same name, is the work of the Turin architect Giovanni Giacomo Plantery (1680-1756), who designed it at essentially the same time as the church of the Assunta in 1708, to replace a previous little church dedicated to Saint Anthony the Abbot.

The building creates a surprising effect, rising within the urban area and overlooking Piazza Cesare Battisti, created in 1838 when the deteriorated block called "Champeaux" was torn down.

The altar-like façade typical of the eighteenth-century Piedmont style shows accentuated verticality. It has two storeys, each of which with four columns, and is surmounted by a curved gable. The fresco decoration of the Triumph of the Cross was painted in 1880 by Luigi Molineris from Costigliole Saluzzo. The bell tower we see today was built between 1822 and 1825, and is closely linked with the façade.

Inside, the convergence of architecture and decoration creates marvellous illusionistic effects. In addition to Plantery, numerous artists contributed to the overall results: Pietro Dallamano painted the apse with the assistance of his son and, as of 1723, Francesco Casoli; Michele Antonio Millocco painted the dome and Francesco Branco the Evangelists; and Giuseppe Beltramelli did the stucco work in 1722.

The Deposition of Christ, a canvas by Jean Claret (1650) that hangs behind the high altar, is an extremely important work. Another esteemed work is the Christ Resurrected, a statue completed in 1725 by Carlo Giuseppe Plura. It is solemnly raised every year during Easter Mass using a mechanical device and is carried in a procession through the streets of Savigliano, along with the wooden statues of Saint Helen and the Angel.