Chiesa della Madonna del Popolo

The Madonna del Popolo is a major sanctuary in Cherasco, with a brick façade designed by Sebastiano Taricco, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century paintings, and a dome ranked by the official portal among Piedmont's largest.

Why it matters

Completed in 1702 to a design by the Cheraschese painter-architect Sebastiano Taricco, under the direction of architects Crappa and Rocca, the church grew from a votive foundation into Cherasco's principal Marian sanctuary. It was consecrated as a sanctuary in 1988 and gathers work by artists active in Cherasco between 1650 and 1750 beneath a large dome.

What to notice

The cotto façade has restrained brickwork and reflects Taricco's work as both architect and painter. The interior includes carved wooden statues of San Giovanni Evangelista and San Giuseppe by Bonanate, mid-eighteenth-century frescoes by Aliberti, and two "Adorations" by Pietro Metey of Lyon (1728–1765), transferred from the Camaldolese hermitage of Selva Maggiore. Other works include canvases by Giovanni Claret, Taricco, Giuseppe Barotti and the Operti, as well as carved walnut pews. The dome is described by the official text as the third largest in Piedmont.

Context and history

Completed in 1702 to Taricco's design, the church became Cherasco's principal Marian shrine in the period after the plague of 1630 and the treaty signed in the town in April 1631. The eighteenth century furnished it: local sculptors, fresco painters, and canvases acquired or donated, some arriving from religious houses elsewhere, as the Metey Adorations did. The twentieth century brought formal recognition of its pilgrimage role, culminating in the 1988 consecration as a Marian sanctuary. Its dome remains a reference point in the townscape, visible on the walk between the historic centre and the bastion walkways.