Madonna del Pilone, Turin

Madonna del Pilone church

The church (or Sanctuary) of the Madonna del Pilone is a seventeenth-century church in Turin, Italy.

Background

Built in 1645, the church was constructed by wish of the Queen Regent Christine Marie of France to remember the miraculous rescue from the previous year of a girl from the river. The miracle was attributed to the intervention of an image of the Virgin of the Annunciation, which was placed on a votive pillar. The painting became such an item of devotion, that this church was built at the site, enlarged in 1779, and furnished with a baptistery in 1807. Repeated reconstructions have altered the interior, and the church retains only some of the original decoration consisting of the stuccoes attributed to Giovanni Andrea Casella and the cupola frescoes by Bartolomeo Guidobono. The main altar houses the miraculous icon dating from 1587, now thoroughly restored.

Miracle

The miracle for which the church was built recalls that the riverbank nearby once housed a number of mills. A flour miller's daughter fell into the river at dusk. Her Mother, hearing her cries, but unable to see where she was to rescue her, knelt before a nearby shrine built next to the mill, depicting the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin. Legend holds a miraculous shaft of light illuminated the spot where her daughter was, and allowed her to be rescued by neighbors. News of the miracle led to the erection of a church by 1645, which became a Parish church March 2, 1807. The picture of the Madonna behind the main altar recalls the event.

References

Information extracted from Italian Wikipedia
Official website with history of miracle.

Tourism in Turin

Archaeological sites	Palatine Towers

Basilica & Cathedral	Turin Cathedral Basilica of Corpus Domini Basilica of Our Lady Basilica of Superga Santuario della Consolata

Churches	Chapel of the Holy Shroud S Lorenzo Gran Madre di Dio Madonna del Pilone Monte dei Cappuccini S Teresa

Other	Castello del Valentino Mole Antonelliana Palazzo Carignano Palazzo Chiablese Palazzo Madama University Library Villa della Regina Royal Palace with Armory and Royal Library

Theatres	Teatro Carignano Teatro Regio

Museums	Egyptian Museum Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile Museum of the Risorgimento Oriental Art Museum National Museum of Cinema Sabauda Gallery Natural History Museum Ancient Art Museum

Gardens and parks	Parco del Valentino Botanical Garden

Events and traditions	Italian Environmental Film Festival Torino Film Festival Turin International Book Fair

Coordinates: 45°04′12″N 7°43′26″E / 45.0700°N 7.7240°E / 45.0700; 7.7240

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