The Triangle of Charity
The Venerable Falletti di Barolo - St. Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo - St. Giuseppe Cafasso - St. Giovanni Bosco - Blessed Francesco Faà di Bruno - St. Leonardo Murialdo - St. Giuseppe Marello - Blessed Giuseppe Allamano - Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati
Day tour with free lunch
Welcome to Torino, a city rich in history, culture and spirituality. This one-day tour will lead you to discover the sacred places and stories of the ‘Social Saints’, extraordinary figures who dedicated their lives to supporting the weakest.
-Sanctuary of the Consolata: We begin our tour at the Church of the Consolata, one of the oldest in Turin. This place of worship is dedicated to Mary, invoked as ‘Consolatrice’. A splendid example of Piedmontese Baroque, its façade and sumptuous interior will leave you breathless. Famous architects such as Guarino Guarini, Filippo Juvarra and Carlo Ceppi contributed to the construction of the sanctuary. A cannon ball is embedded in the ‘tambour’ of the church, direct evidence of the French siege of 1706.
-Museum of the Shroud: Continue to the Museum of the Shroud , where you can explore the history of this enigmatic linen sheet. The Shroud bears the image of a man's corpse and according to tradition is the cloth mentioned in the Gospels that wrapped Jesus' body.
-Basilica of Corpus Christi: Built to celebrate the Eucharistic Miracle that took place on 6 June 1453. On that occasion, a group of French soldiers, after sacking the church of Exilles, allegedly went to Turin to sell their loot on the feast day of Corpus Christi. It is said that when they arrived at the place where the basilica stands, the donkey carrying the host coming from the church of Exilles threw itself to the ground but the host did not fall to the ground and remained suspended in the air for a long time, illuminating the square from above.
-Rondò della Forca: Here, between 1835 and 1853, the executions of those condemned to death took place. At the exact spot where the gallows once stood, on the corner with Corso Regina Margherita, today stands a moment dedicated to a figure much loved by condemned prisoners of the time: San Giuseppe Cafasso. Also known as the ‘priest of the gallows’, Cafasso was considered the apostle of prisoners, especially those destined for execution, whom he accompanied up to the moment of hanging. Erected in 1960, a century after his death, the statue depicts the saint in the emblematic act of handing a cross to a condemned man.
-Basilica of Maria Ausiliatrice: Continuation of the visit to the Basilica, which is the symbol of the Salesian community founded by St John Bosco and included in the large complex of Valdocco. It was from here that the work of the Saint began, supporting the many young people who found refuge, professional training and education here. Later the Salesian work became an important missionary reality, which today has a presence in 133 countries around the world.
-Piccola casa della Divina Provvidenza: Commonly known as Cottolengo, after the name of its founder St Joseph Benedict Cottolengo, it is the institute dedicated to assisting people with physical and mental disabilities, minors without families, drug addicts, and the homeless poor.
-Arsenale della Pace: Finally, a visit to a former war arsenal, now converted into a place of welcome and fraternity, a meeting place, dialogue and training. The place is run by SERMIG (Youth Missionary Service), the missionary group founded in Turin by Ernesto Olivero in 1964 with the aim of promoting works of solidarity towards the poor.
The fee includes
licensed guide for the whole day, entrance to the Shroud Museum, health insurance.
Full-day walking tour
Available languages
Italian, English, French, German, Spanish
Admissions
per person (min. 10)