Balangero: Baroque Churches, Castle Ruins and Anello Ceronda

Balangero combines a historically shaped town centre with churches, traces of the castle, sweeping views and the Anello Ceronda. You will find a destination where architectural history, local festivals, a medieval dessert and a distinctive landscape bring together a range of interests.

Churches, Chapels and Traces of the Castle

The Baroque parish church of San Giacomo Maggiore was begun in 1771 based on a design by Mario Ludovico Quarini. The parish church features frescoes by Fea and Rocco Manedi, valuable stucco work, a carved pulpit and an 18th-century wooden statue of Saint Joseph.

From the forecourt of the parish church of San Giacomo Maggiore, you can look out over Balangero, towards the Alpine peaks and across the plain as far as the hills of Turin. The forecourt thus makes the connection between the townscape and the expansive landscape immediately visible.

The church of San Rocco stands at the centre of Balangero’s Baroque town centre. It was built around 1646 on behalf of the San Rocco e Santa Croce brotherhood. The Chapel of San Vittore is a square building from the 11th century that was restored in the 15th century. The Santuario Madonna dei Martiri was built at the beginning of the 18th century on the remains of an old oratory.

The ruins of Balangero’s old castle stand on the summit of the Truc behind the parish church. Under the Conte Verde, the castle reached its greatest extent and became an important fortress. Following its restoration, it was intended to be surrounded by four tall towers: the Bianca, the Nera, the Visconte’s Tower, also known as the Donna Ambrosia, and the Turris Portae.

Route and Landscape

The Anello Ceronda is a 69.05 km route with five hiking stages and five mountain-bike stages. The first stage begins in Balangero town centre or at the railway station and follows cycle route 402 along the left bank of the Stura di Lanzo to the entrance of Parco del Ponte del Diavolo.

There is a lake in the basin of the former Amiantifera of Balangero. It is approximately 50 metres deep and contains around 2 million cubic metres of water.

Local Traditions and Terms

In Balangero’s historic centre, there are large, complex courtyards known locally as „Sim“. The traditional San Vittore Leva festival is celebrated by the Coscritti of Balangero on the first or second Saturday in May. La Sieta is a local medieval dessert prepared for the patronal feast of Saint James.

When choosing your destination, you can consider cultural highlights and active routes side by side in Balangero. The churches, castle ruins and Chapel of San Vittore take you through different eras; the Anello Ceronda adds five hiking and five mountain-bike stages to this townscape. The view from the forecourt, the ruins on the Truc and the lake in the basin of the former Amiantifera each provide their own distinctive landscape features. Depending on your interests, you can make architecture, local traditions, hiking, mountain biking or the landscape the focus of your trip planning.

Further destinations: Villar Perosa, Isolabella, Salassa, Chivasso, Colleretto Giacosa, Vestignè, Frassinetto, Castellamonte

To the higher-level travel overview: Turin.