Province TO
Chieri, TO
A town about 11 kilometres southeast of Turin that was a medieval republic and later a cotton and textile centre. Its centre keeps a large Gothic cathedral, a set of porticoed streets and fragments of the towers that earned it the nickname city of a hundred towers.
Sights
- Duomo di Santa Maria della Scala, founded in 1037 and rebuilt from 1405, the largest Gothic church in the Turin area
- The Battistero, a 13th-century octagonal baptistery beside the cathedral with period frescoes
- The Arco Trionfale, dedicated to Emanuele Filiberto and Carlo Emanuele I
- San Domenico, a Gothic church with a tall brick campanile
- San Giorgio, the hilltop church above the centre, with views over the town
Things to do
- Walk the porticoes of the old centre, which run for a considerable stretch
- Climb to San Giorgio for the view across Chieri to the Monferrato hills
- Come during the September town programme, when the streets are used for events
Annual events
September
Settembre Chierese
A town-wide programme of music, theatre and traditional events over several days.
September
Festa della Madonna delle Grazie
Patronal feast marking the plague of 1630, with processions and a solemn mass around 12 September.
When to visit
Early September, for the town festival and the patronal feast.
