Built by the Dominican fathers, the Chiesa (Church) di San Domenico is linked to the decision of the Marquis Guglielmo VIII Paleologo to choose Casale as seat of the Monferrato court and the establishment of the Casale diocese. Begun in 1472 in a Gothic style, the building continued until the early years of the 16th century when a Renaissance door, the work of Lombard masters, was placed on the façade. Three naves, supported by the pilasters that hold up a cross vault, articulate the interior space adorned with numerous prized works such as the 16th century stoop and the detached fresco of the Madonna con Bambino tra i santi Domenico e Giovanni Battista (Virgin Mary with Child between Saints Domenic and John the Baptist) by the Spanzotti entourage. In the left nave, one finds the altarpiece by Guglielmo Caccia known as “Moncalvo”, which depicts Heraclius carrying the cross to Jerusalem; then, in the transept is the great painting by Guglielmo Crosio which shows “La battaglia di Lepanto” (“The Battle of Lepanto”) of 1626. At the end of the nave, in the chapel, there are fifteen canvases with “I misteri del Rosario” (“The Mysteries of the Rosary”), created at the beginning of the 17th century by Giorgio Alberini. But the most precious canvases are those by Pietro Francesco Guala who did “La resurrezione di Felice Orsini” (“The Resurrection of Felice Orsini”) and “Il miracolo del libro” (“The Miracle of the Book”) which take up the presbytery, modified in the mid 18th century by the architect Francesco Ottavio Magnocavalli. Next to the works of Guala is the Madonna del Rosario by Nicolo Musso delle Grazie dating back to the beginning of the 16th century.
