After the original project had collapsed, Filippo Juvarra was called in to create a new project for the construction of the San Filippo Neri Church in Turin. With its 77 by 33 meters it is still the biggest church in the city. Its main attraction, the Paliotto del Piffetti, was recently moved to the Museum of Applied Arts.
San Filippo Neri Church Turin
Useful information
Address: Via Maria Vittoria, 5 – Torino. Phone: +39 329 1807733. Opening times: From 08.00 till 19.00. Ticket price: Free.
History and description
The original design of the Chiesa di San Filippo Nero Church included a dome and was designed by Antonio Bettino. With the work well under way, the building had collapsed in 1714.
Juvarra got rid of the dome and realized a single nave church with a barrel vault and large windows. On the outside, the vault is buttressed by huge brick walls.
The entire complex consists of the church, the oratorium and the Casa dei Padri. The 17th century crypt was restored in 2006. The Cappella dell’Oratorio was restored in 2015 and is often used for concerts.
The entrance is aligned with the atrium of the Palazzo Asinari di San Marzano. It is set back from street level.
Architects making later contributions were Giovanni Battista Sacchetti and Giovanni Pietro Baroni di Tavigliano, Pietro Bonvicini (presbyterial area and sacristy) and Giuseppe Talucchi.
The façade with the Corinthian pronaos was the work of Ernesto Camusso (1891).
Paliotto del Piffetti
The Paliotto del Piffetti is named after the artist who made it. Pietro Piffetti (1701-1777) was the main woodworker for the court of the House of Savoy. A paliotto (“antependium”) is a, usually, cloth cover of the front of an altar. It can also be made of other materials, however. The San Filippo Neri paliotto is made of wood, ivory, mother-of-pearl and other precious stones. Piffetti made it in 1749.