Turin Cathedral or Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist (, ) is a

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 ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

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 ...

northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

. Dedicated to Saint

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

(). It is the seat of the Archbishops of Turin. It was built during 1491–1498, adjacent to a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

which had been built in 1470. Designed by

Guarino Guarini Camillo Guarino Guarini (17 January 16246 March 1683) was an Italian architect of the Piedmontese Baroque architecture, Baroque, active in Turin as well as Sicily, Kingdom of France, France and Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal. He was a Theatines, ...

, the

Chapel of the Holy Shroud The Chapel of the Holy Shroud () is a Baroque style Roman Catholic chapel in Turin in northern Italy, constructed to house the Shroud of Turin (''Sindone di Torino''), a religious relic believed to be the burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth. It i ...

(the current location of the

Shroud of Turin The Shroud of Turin (), also known as the Holy Shroud (), is a length of linen cloth that bears a faint image of the front and back of a naked man. Because details of the image are consistent with depiction of Jesus, traditional depictions o ...

) was added to the structure in 1668–1694.

History

Lombard church

The church lies where the theatre of the ancient Roman city was located. Later, the site was developed with the construction of a complex of original three Christian churches, dedicated to the Holy Saviour, Saint Mary of Dompno () and (the largest one) to St. John the Baptist. According to some sources, the consecration of the main church was carried on by

Agilulf Agilulf ( 555 – April 616), called ''the Thuringian'' and nicknamed ''Ago'', was a duke of Turin and king of the Lombards from 591 until his death. A relative of his predecessor Authari, Agilulf was of Thuringian origin and belonged to t ...

, the Lombard King of northern Italy from 591 to 613. In 662, Garibald, Duke of Turin ( it) was assassinated in the church by a follower of

Godepert Godepert (also ''Gundipert'', ''Godebert'', ''Godipert'', ''Godpert'', ''Gotebert'', ''Gotbert'', ''Gotpert'', ''Gosbert'', or ''Gottbert'') was king of the Lombards (crowned 661), eldest son and successor of Aripert I. He was an Arian who gover ...

, whose murder Garibald is believed to have had a part in. The first three churches were demolished between 1490 and 1492. The construction of the new cathedral, still dedicated to St. John the Baptist, began in 1491. Amedeo de Francisco di Settignano, also known as Meo del Caprino, designed it and completed the construction in seven years. The pre-existing bell tower, was preserved.

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 ...

modified the tower in the 17th century. Pope

Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Me ...

officially confirmed the church as metropolitan see in 1515. In 1649 Bernardino Quadri prepared a project to enlarge the cathedral, to create a more impressive seat for the Holy Shroud. Quadri had moved from Rome to join the court of Duke Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy in Turin. His design was based on an earlier project by Carlo di Castellamonte: it included building an oval chapel behind the choir. In 1667

was invited to complete the project. The construction of the dome took 28 years: it was completed in 1694 under the direction of Marie Jeanne of Savoy, Charles Emmanuel II's widow. The cathedral is the burial place of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901–1925), Turin native, avid athlete, and benefactor of the poor, called the "saint for youth of the Third Millennium." He was beatified by

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in 1990. While the chapel of the Holy Shroud behind the cathedral was undergoing renovation during 2009, the Shroud was kept in a small chapel within the cathedral.

Notable people

;'' Maestro di cappelli'' *

Simon Boyleau Simon Boyleau (floruit, fl. 1544–1586) was a French composer of the Renaissance music, Renaissance, active in northern Italy. A prolific composer of madrigal (music), madrigals as well as sacred music, he was closely connected with the court of ...

* Alessandro Besozzi * Quirino Gasparini * Felice Alessandri * Feliciano Strepponi

Organists

Ruggier Trofeo ;Funerals and burials * Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli, member of the Agnelli family that owns

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

* Andrea Pininfarina * Luciana Frassati Gawronska * Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati As Turin was the capital city of the Kingdom of Piedmon-Sardinia, the cathedral is one of two in which members of the royal family (including the cadet branches) are buried in, the other being the Basilica of Superga in the outskirts of the city. Several royal consorts and princesses are buried here.

Gallery

File:Duomo di Torino 2.JPG, The central nave. Behind the altar, the panel painting that replicates the original viewing on the Cappella della Sacra Sindone (Chapel of the Holy Shroud) with the Altar of Bertola. Both works have been seriously damaged during the fire of 1997 and are still under restoration File:Duomo (Turin) - Dome.jpg, Inside of the Guarini Chapel File:Un chrétien devant le saint suaire.jpg, A churchgoer prays in front of the Holy Shroud File:Shroudofturin.jpg, The Holy Shroud is visible only during the ''Ostensioni'' File:2016 1127 Turin Duomo Polyptych Crispin and Crispiniano.jpg, Cappella dei Santi Crispino e Crispiniano. ''

Polyptych A polyptych ( ; Greek: ''poly-'' "many" and ''ptychē'' "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) which is divided into sections, or panels. Some definitions restrict "polyptych" to works with more than three sections: a diptych is ...

of the Shoemakers Company'' (1498–1504), Giovanni Martino Spanzotti and Defendente Ferrari File:2016 1127 Turin Duomo Tomb of Giovanna d'Orlier de la Balme.jpg, Giovanna d'Orlier de la Balme tomb monument. At the top is missing the emblem of the family that was destroyed by French troops during the Napoleonic occupation File:Organo Duomo Torino.JPG, Vegezzi-Bossi organ File:Duomo of Turin from gardens.jpg, Torre campanaria (bell tower)

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1498 Churches completed in the 1490s 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Turin Burials at Turin Cathedral Shroud of Turin Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Cathedrals in Piedmont Churches dedicated to John the Baptist in Italy Cathedrals dedicated to John the Baptist Catholic churches dedicated to John the Baptist