Consider the year 1887 when Don Alessandro Roccati became pastor. He purchased land from the Rignon and Bogetti families. This land would become the site of Santa Maria delle Grazie.
Santa Maria delle Grazie also known as the Church of Crocetta is more than just a building. It is a testament to faith. It is a tapestry woven from centuries of Turin’s religious and architectural history.
The origins of Santa Maria delle Grazie reach back to 1558. A devout woman Maddalena Groppello da Soncino built a small chapel as an act of gratitude. In 1618 Duke Carlo Emanuele I assigned land to the Trinitarian Friars. They were to construct a church convent and garden. This new church incorporated the existing chapel.
A dispute arose between the Trinitarian Friars who owned the church and the Filippini Fathers. They held the parochial jurisdiction. The dispute was resolved in 1799. The church became an independent parish.
In 1887 under Don Alessandro Roccati construction began on the present-day church. Giuseppe Ferrari d’Orsara designed it. The architectural style is Neo-Medieval. It blends Neo-Romanesque Neo-Byzantine and Neo-Gothic elements. The church was completed in 1889.
Inside Santa Maria delle Grazie is adorned with rich marbles and frescoes by Giovanni Stura. It also houses a work attributed to Tintoretto. The Neo-Romanesque bell tower was damaged in the 1943 bombings. It was later rebuilt in the same style.
The interior of Santa Maria delle Grazie unites different styles. It is an example of Neo-Medieval taste. It features a Late Byzantine layout in a Greek cross shape. Romanesque elements appear in the bell tower. There are also Ravenna-style decorations Neo-Gothic details and a Paleo-Christian style in the apse basin. The atrium recalls an ancient narthex.
A large canvas from the Tintoretto school possibly by Tintoretto or Palma il Vecchio remains from the previous church. Also preserved is the 17th-century carved wooden altar and a 15th-century statue of the Virgin.
Giovanni Stura painted two pictorial registers. In the apse dome he depicted the Virgin interceding for grace from her Divine Son. On the front of the triumphal arch is painted the Angel proclaiming Mary full of grace. At the center is the Holy Spirit.
A frescoed lateral band runs through the entire Santa Maria delle Grazie above the nave columns. The band features seven Eucharistic emblems. Medallions with Prophets and Virgins flank the presbytery. Saints and angels adorn the nave and chapel in procession. The Four Evangelists appear in the tympani between the columns and the lateral band.
Moncervetto marble makes up the twelve interior columns with Viggiù stone capitals in the Byzantine style. The wooden ceiling is supported by flying arches. It is decorated with bright colors gilding and arabesques.
Francesco Vegezzi Bossi of Centallo built the pipe organ in 1920. It was restored in 1979 and modified in 2002. In 2019 Brondino Vegezzi Bossi restored modified and expanded it.
Santa Maria delle Grazie stands as a testament to Turin’s rich religious history. Its walls echo with centuries of prayers. Its art tells stories of faith. Its architecture reflects changing styles.