Grugliasco – Culture, History and Parks

Grugliasco offers a range of ways to enjoy a stay focused on culture and parks: a chapel with a long history, museums exploring sports history and the Piedmontese puppet tradition, and parks with their own distinct character. This gives you practical guidance when looking for hotels in Grugliasco and planning your time around cultural themes or open spaces. The sites represent different aspects of the city’s history—from the former celebration of Saint Roch to a museum tour arranged chronologically.

The chapel’s history and a former tradition

The Cappella di S. Rocco is one of Grugliasco’s oldest chapels and was already in existence in 1500. Its present-day appearance dates to a renovation carried out between 1826 and 1828, based on a design by the architect Ignazio Michela. The same chapel thus reveals both an early history and a much later architectural renewal.

The former celebration of Saint Roch on August 16 included a procession led by members of the Santa Croce brotherhood. The statue of Saint Roch was carried in the procession, while dancing girls brought bread, which was blessed to the accompaniment of music. This account refers to the past: it describes a former celebration, not a present-day event held every year. The procession and the renovation add two distinct aspects to the story of the chapel—religious customs and architectural history.

Museums with different focuses

Villa Claretta Assandri is a grand residence dating from the 17th century, set in a large park and home to the Museo del Grande Torino e della Leggenda Granata. The museum tour is organized thematically and chronologically. It brings together sport, culture and society through memorabilia, documents and photographs. Sport is therefore not the only focus here; the museum also explores its cultural and social context.

The Museo Gianduja offers a different perspective. This cultural institution is deeply rooted in regional tradition and devoted to the Piedmontese puppet Gianduja. Its collection includes marionettes and hand puppets, as well as brochures, postcards, historical photographs and other objects. The variety of materials gives a tangible sense of the collection’s scope: alongside the figures are printed and photographic records. Those comparing the museums by theme can set the chronological tour of sport and society alongside the regional puppet tradition.

Two parks with distinct character

Parco Culturale Le Serre lies in the heart of the old town and covers more than 35,000 square meters. Nature, history and culture are the three themes the park brings together. Its location and size give it a different character from a park primarily associated with specific opportunities for exercise and play.

Parco Porporati is a public park with facilities, including playgrounds, fitness equipment and trim trails. It can be reached on foot or by bicycle. Grugliasco therefore offers different kinds of green spaces: Le Serre explicitly connects the park with cultural and historical themes, while Porporati’s facilities provide opportunities for play and exercise. When planning your time in the area, you can use these differences to help choose what to focus on.

Events and dates

The Palio della Gru takes place in collaboration with the Associazione Cojtà Grugliascheisa on the first Sunday in June. If you would like to plan your trip around this date, check the specific event date against your plans. Carnevale dei Parpoijn includes a masked parade, games for children and an opening evening at which the masks are installed. The program also includes a closing bonfire on Shrove Tuesday; the event is held in collaboration with the Pro Loco di Grugliasco.

Stragrugliasco in bicicletta is another of the events described: it is a cycling event held in collaboration with the Associazione AdB – Amici della Bicicletta. The Palio, Carnevale and cycling event each have a different focus: a date in June, masks and games, or cycling.

Discover more destinations: Carella, Busano, Prali, Mathi, Bardonecchia, San Didero, Strambinello, Condove.

For the broader travel overview: Turin.