Symbol of the city of Saluzzo, this ancient church with medieval origins, has been a witness to the city’s life and history. Built in the 13th century and enlarged in 1330 by Dominican monks, it offers a lovely contract between the simplicity of its exterior and the richness of its interior. The Gothic façade in accentuated weathered brick is embellished with a beautiful stone entrance topped by an oeil-de-boeuf window decorated with a black and white checkerboard pattern. The five-storey bell tower, added in 1370, rises up alongside the church and is defined by pilasters, angular buttresses, and string-course cornices in terracotta. The bell tower, high and soaring, ends in an octagonal cusp, topped with a weather cock – clearly French inspired. The building’s interior is divided into three naves which meet at the apse where the funerary chapel of the Saluzzo marquises is located; built in gray stone inlaid with green stone, it is one of the most important sculptural works in the area. The pictorial decorations date back to the restoration work carried out at the beginning of the 19th century, although there are quite a few remnants of the 15th -16th century frescos. In fact, a cycle of 15th century frescos has recently come to light in the chapel of the Santi Crispino and Crispiniano. In the Baroque chapel of the Rosario, the octagonal dome illuminates splendid stucco work as well as an altarpiece in gilded wood by Pascale Oddone. From the left nave, going down a few steps, one arrives at the square cloister characterized by a lancet-arch colonnade resting on marble columns. Continuing on, one reaches the refectory with its lacunar ceiling, and the capitular hall with Cavassa’s funerary chapel.
