The church is the result of the vow made in 1557 by Emanuele Filiberto to mark the victory against the French in the battle of San Quintino, which took place on August 10 (San Lorenzo); however only in 1634 the Theatines took over the building, on a lot of land given by the Duke on purpose. From the taking over to the actual building, however, many years passed and only with the arrival in Torino of Guarino Guarini (also a Theatine monk), in 1666, the building started. Preceded by the Oratorio dell’Addolorata, almost a narthex, built by Antonio Dupuy in 1846, the church has a central plant with four radial chapels, a high tambour, and the dome is supported by a skeleton of 16 bands crossed with one another, an extraordinary static composition which is typical of Guarini. In between the crossed bands there are large windows providing plenty of light to the whole church.
