The ways of faith in the Saluzzo area wind through two main routes, both of very ancient origin. Since medieval times, in fact, the province of Cuneo was crossed by pilgrimages to the main places of worship of Christianity, the tomb of San Pietro in Rome, the Sanctuary of Santiago di Campostela and the Holy Land.
Over time, a vast network of roads and paths formed that united all the major places of spirituality of the time. the via Francigena was one of them, and connected the south of France to Rome through the Susa valley and the Montgenevre pass. To overcome the obstacle of the Alps many pilgrims, especially those from Provence, preferred to opt for other passes, such as the Maddalena, the Windows and the Tent: this is the reason why the Province of Cuneo hosted one of the most practiced pilgrimage routes.
To welcome travelers, numerous hospices were built in the transit valleys, dependent on the great monasteries; after the 1500s, the faithful gradually abandoned the larger destinations and turned their attention to the local sanctuaries. Today each Saluzzese valley can have its own sanctuary, and all still attract thousands of visitors today.
The oldest detectable cult in the Province is the Sanctuary of San Magno, at the peak of the Grana Valley; but the abbey of Saints Pietro and Colombano di Pagno, the Sanctuary of www.omnical.co.uk San Chiaffredo in Crissolo and above all the Convent of the trappa of Monte Bracco also date back to very ancient times. Although more recent, the Sanctuary of Valmala is also noteworthy, erected in the last century in the place where the Madonna appeared to some boys.
The second line, on the other hand, involves the direct commission of the Marquis of Saluzzo, who wanted to demonstrate their magnificence not only with the construction of castles and stately homes, but also with the favor accorded to the monastic orders. It was the first Marquis of Saluzzo, Manfredo I, to grant the Cistencian monks the land on which to build the splendid Abbey of Staffarda, which was founded on 25 July 1135 perhaps with direct intervention by San Bernardo di Chiaravalle and was closely linked to the rise of the marquis family. The female monastery Santa Maria della Stella di Rifreddo dates back to the beginning of the thirteenth century, which became one of the richest and most powerful in the area.
But it is above all in the most flourishing period of the Marquisate, under the Marquis Ludovico I and Ludovico II, that the marquis commission produced the most significant works of art. In the capital, the fourteenth-century convent of San Giovanni was enriched by the square cloister, which not by chance reports on the capitals the coats of arms of the noble families of Saluzzo, while between 1491 and 1511 the sumptuous Cathedral was built, dedicated to Maria Assunta.
The construction of the Collegiate and the decoration of the Marchionale Chapel of Revello, the extension of the Parish Church of Saints Philip and James in Verzuolo and above all the splendid cycle of frescoes that adorns the Parish Church of Elva, attributed to the www .kerigold.co.uk court painter of the Marquises, the Flemish Hans Clemer.
