Chiesa parrocchiale di San Luigi IX

Perched among the narrow lanes of Fenestrelle, the parish church of San Luigi IX gathers centuries of the valley's border history: a chapel of Sant'Eusebio stood nearby by 1098, the present church rose in the 1680s under a French-era design, and an altarpiece was given by Cardinal Pacca while he was imprisoned in the fortress above.

Why it matters

Dedicated to Louis IX, king of France, the parish church reflects Fenestrelle's history on a frontier between French and Italian spheres. Its altarpiece of San Carlo Borromeo was given by Cardinal Bartolomeo Pacca, secretary of state to Pope Pius VII and a prisoner in the fortress above.

What to notice

The interior preserves a seventeenth-century altarpiece of San Carlo Borromeo by a Lombard painter, given to the parish by Cardinal Bartolomeo Pacca. The church also has an 1848 organ by the Collino firm and overlooks the valley.

Context and history

The ancient church of Fenestrelle, dedicated to Sant'Eusebio, is documented by 1098; destroyed in the sixteenth century, it was rebuilt by Capuchin friars in 1628. In the 1680s, when the valley's allegiances ran to France, the parish moved to a new church on a design by De Gordes and took the French royal saint Louis IX as patron. Works by Gariglietti and Belli in 1773 and 1774 refined the building, and local memory preserves Don Bosco's visit of 1868. Today the parish belongs to the Diocese of Pinerolo.