Itinerary
Km 2,9 / Elevation change - 24
The meandering route continues along the canal, in the direction of Piana di San Raffaele, reaches the right bank of the Po and follows its course until passing the promontory hill of Cimena.
The instituting of San Raffaele Cimena, currently a union of two places, is related to the Roman road that connected Chivasso-Clavasium to Torino-Augusta Taurinorum: around a votive chapel dedicated to St Raphael, built according to the tradition of the Justinian troops, in the 6th century the first settlement was created as a Byzantine garrison on the plains below. In the early medieval period, much of the town moved up the hills because of raids by bandits and, perhaps, Saracens, when also the walls and moats were constructed. The village, developed around a fortress, was named San Raffaele, but along the road for Chivasso there remained some inhabited garrisons that provided services to pilgrims and merchants. However, Cimena may originate from an earlier period than the Romans, and in 1596 it figured as an independent town of considerable importance because of being on a busy communication route and in a very favourable agricultural area. The Church of the Sacro Cuore di Gesù was built in the 1930s in neo-Gothic style to designs by the architect Bartolomeo Gallo and was extended in the late 1960s.
Once past the town going in the direction of Chivasso and having crossed the Vaj Wood, protected by the Natural Park of the Torino Hill, the Church of San Genesio is reached, rebuilt in Romanesque style from the chapel under the same name dating back to 1156: the current layout is from a refurbishment in the early 1900s, but of the original building there remains the central apse, the one on the left and the splendid brick bell tower with single-lancet windows, mullioned windows and mullioned windows with three lights decorated with blind arcades.
The meandering route continues along the canal, in the direction of Piana di San Raffaele, reaches the right bank of the Po and follows its course until passing the promontory hill of Cimena.
The instituting of San Raffaele Cimena, currently a union of two places, is related to the Roman road that connected Chivasso-Clavasium to Torino-Augusta Taurinorum: around a votive chapel dedicated to St Raphael, built according to the tradition of the Justinian troops, in the 6th century the first settlement was created as a Byzantine garrison on the plains below. In the early medieval period, much of the town moved up the hills because of raids by bandits and, perhaps, Saracens, when also the walls and moats were constructed. The village, developed around a fortress, was named San Raffaele, but along the road for Chivasso there remained some inhabited garrisons that provided services to pilgrims and merchants. However, Cimena may originate from an earlier period than the Romans, and in 1596 it figured as an independent town of considerable importance because of being on a busy communication route and in a very favourable agricultural area. The Church of the Sacro Cuore di Gesù was built in the 1930s in neo-Gothic style to designs by the architect Bartolomeo Gallo and was extended in the late 1960s.
Once past the town going in the direction of Chivasso and having crossed the Vaj Wood, protected by the Natural Park of the Torino Hill, the Church of San Genesio is reached, rebuilt in Romanesque style from the chapel under the same name dating back to 1156: the current layout is from a refurbishment in the early 1900s, but of the original building there remains the central apse, the one on the left and the splendid brick bell tower with single-lancet windows, mullioned windows and mullioned windows with three lights decorated with blind arcades.
Contacts
, 10090 Gassino Torinese (TO)