Abbeys and churches
Abbazia di Santa Maria (Cavour)
Category: Abbeys and churches
On the left-hand side of the road that leads from Grutti to Castelvecchio, above a small hill, is the Abbazia (Abbey) di Santa Maria di Agello whose name comes from “agellus” which means campiello (a small square in Venice). Farmers from the area adored Maria as the protector of the countryside and of masses. Founded “ex-novo” by the Bishop of Torinio Landolfo in 1037, it was governed by more than 40 abbots, mostly Benedictine from the Chiesa (Church) di San Michele. Although it has been damaged several times, it is still possible today to rediscover what remains of the Landolfian work: the various levels of the church, the octagonal pilasters, the stupendous crypt with the oldest altar in Piemonte, and, above all, the precious material reused from an earlier period that testifies to the structure’s possible preexistence. The church, characterized by a small bell gable slightly off the center, offers a single nave floor plan without a transept which ends in a semi-circular apse. It is built in squared travertine stone.
Information
Via Saluzzo - 10061 Cavour (To)
Tel. +39.0121.6114
