Church of St. Francis of Paola

St. Francis Church of Paola is a temple in Turin, Italy. Located on Via Po, one of the main streets of Turin, connecting piazza Castello and piazza Vittorio Veneto. The building has historical and artistic value.

The Order of the Minims of St. Francis from Paola arrived in the Duchy of Savoy in 1623 to oppose heresy. Victor-Amadeus I and Cristina of France presented the order as a gift of land to build a monastery and church here. Moreover, they generously financed this construction. The church and adjoining monastery were built from 1632 to 1667 by Andrea Costaguta. The main altar was built between 1664 and 1665 by Thomas Carlone, designed by Amedeo di Castellamonte.

The facade of the church is very simple. The interior is decorated with polychrome eighteenth-century marble, has a single nave with six compartments, which were built by order of the wealthy families then ruling in Turin, and side chapels with altars. In the first chapel on the right is the tomb of the Marquis Morozzo Della Rocca (1699) and the priceless painting The Death of St. Joseph by the artist Thomas Lorenzone (mid-nineteenth century). In the second chapel there is a monument to Thomas and Marcantonio Graneri and the Archangel Michael by Stefano Maria Legnani (late seventeenth century), in the third there is the Virgin Mary and the Saints by Giovanni Peruzzini.