Carmagnola: Culture, History and Nature

If you’re looking for a hotel in Carmagnola, you can plan your stay around a theme: craft traditions, collections, religious buildings and Bosco del Gerbasso offer different perspectives. The range extends from hemp processing and the history of printing to natural history and woodland landscapes. The following themes can help you decide which aspects of Carmagnola interest you most.

Crafts, the History of Printing and Maritime Culture

At the Ecomuseo della Cultura della Lavorazione della Canapa, practical demonstrations and tools illustrate how hemp fibres are processed. Under a long roof, a surviving Sentè dating from 1905 is also preserved. The museum thus combines hands-on demonstrations of hemp processing with a historical artefact. It also tells the story of rope-making, one of the oldest crafts in the Carmagnola area.

The Museo Tipografico Rondani focuses on a different working tradition. Its collections, all originating in Carmagnola, document five centuries of printing and are closely associated with the historic Tipografia Scolastica of the Rondani family. The collection includes printing presses and equipment, as well as books, printed sheets, woodcut and copper-engraving plates, documents and other mementos of the art of printing.

Through its collection and related initiatives, the Museo Civico Navale presents Carmagnola as a centre of maritime culture. A tactile audio map is available in the entrance area for visitors with visual impairments. The Museo Civico di Storia Naturale has a different focus: its scientific collections include minerals, plants and animals, especially insects, reptiles and birds. The museum is accessible to visitors with reduced mobility.

Religious Buildings and Their Stories

The Sinagoga di Carmagnola is a particularly representative example of a Piedmontese synagogue from the ghetto period. Its Baroque interior dates from the 18th century. On the ground floor, the educational exhibition “Parole, immagini, oggetti e architetture delle sinagoghe piemontesi” is part of the site; it focuses on the synagogues of Piedmont. The architecture and exhibition thus draw attention both to a specific interior and to the region’s architectural heritage.

The Chiesa Collegiata dei SS Pietro e Paolo was built between 1492 and 1514 by Giorgino Costanza di Costigliole. The church contains the exceptionally richly decorated Cappella dell’Immacolata Concezione. The construction dates, architect and chapel offer different points of interest for visitors interested in the historical architecture and furnishings of a religious building.

The Abbazia Santa Maria di Casanova was founded around 1150 and, despite later Baroque alterations, is one of the early examples of Gothic architecture in Piedmont. The Museo di Arte Sacra dell’Abbazia di Casanova displays an important collection of relics, liturgical furnishings and vestments donated by Lodovico Salvi del Pero. A visit to the museum can be combined with a visit to the abbey church and crypt; tours are led by volunteers from the Associazione Amici dell’Abbazia di Casanova.

Bosco del Gerbasso

Bosco del Gerbasso is an educational example of the ancient floodplain forest of the Po Valley, which once covered the entire Pianura Padana. Its 19 hectares include a stand of willows, an oak-hornbeam forest and a meadow. These three areas give the woodland a clear internal variety. Alongside the museums and religious buildings, Bosco broadens the picture of Carmagnola with a nature theme: while collections and buildings tell stories of crafts, history and culture, here the focus is on different habitats and the former woodland landscape of the Po Valley.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Settimo Torinese, Chiomonte, Cesana Torinese, Coazze, Cervoto, Busano, Fiano, Castagneto Po.

For the overview of the wider region: Turin.