COLLEGIATA DI SANTA MARIA DELLA SCALA

The Chiesa di Santa Maria was built in two different periods (1262 and 1363) to replace an older chapel, also devoted to Mary. The bell-tower, inserted in the 15th century, compromises the visibility of the facade, and the clock (added in 1730) sacrifices the original spire. During the 19th century some heavy interventions have altered the original church; in particular, the facade was heavily changed by the insertion of an excessively large oeil-de-boeuf and by the replacement of the original brick staircase (which gave the name to the church) with a new one in marble, in 1857. The interiors were entirely re-frescoed following painter Angelo Moia's Gothic-revival taste; the Organ is one of the most renowned in the whole of Piemonte.