Santa Cristina is a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style,

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church located in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, region of

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

, Italy. It mirrors the adjacent church of San Carlo and faces the

Piazza San Carlo ("Charles Borromeo, St. Charles Square"), previously known as , , and , is one of the main city squares in Turin, Italy. It was laid out in the 16th and 17th century and is an example of Baroque style. The 1838 Equestrian monument of Emmanuel P ...

. The arrangement recalls the twin churches (chiese gemelle) of Santa Maria dei Miracoli (1681) and

Santa Maria in Montesanto Santa Maria in Montesanto is a titular minor basilica church in Rome, in the Rione Campo Marzio, which stands in Piazza del Popolo, between Via del Corso and Via del Babuino. It is also known as the Church of the Artists (). The church is pop ...

(1679) facing the

Piazza del Popolo Piazza del Popolo is a large Town Square, urban square in Rome. The name in modern Italian language, Italian literally means "People's Square", but historically it derives from the Populus, poplars (''populus'' in Latin language, Latin, ''pioppo ...

in Rome.

History

The original layout was designed in 1620 by the architect

Carlo di Castellamonte Carlo Cognengo di Castellamonte (1560–1641) was an Italian architect, civil and military engineer, one of the main exponents of Piedmontese Baroque. Castellamonte was born in Turin. After his studies in Rome, he returned in Piedmont where was as ...

, and construction pursued until 1639. The project was only completed between 1715 and 1718, under the guidance of

Filippo Juvarra Filippo Juvarra (7 March 1678 – 31 January 1736) was an Italian architect, scenographer, engraver and goldsmith. He was active in a late-Baroque architecture style, working primarily in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Biography Juvarra was born ...

, including the facade elaborately decorated with ovals and details with statues of saints and allegories of the virtues. The adjacent convent housed nuns of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites. In 1802, the order was suppressed in Turin by Napoleonic forces. The interiors were modified in the 19th-century and after the bombardments of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.Museo Torino
entry.

References

Roman Catholic churches in Turin Baroque architecture in Turin 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Filippo Juvarra buildings {{Piedmont-RC-church-stub