Chapel of San Biagio

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The origins of the chapel are somewhat unclear. It is quite probable that it originally served as a watchtower to defend the castle, which, despite its high position, had part of its view obstructed by the vineyard hills.

In the 1921 publication Un inventario medioevale e notizie di un castello scomparso (Balangero Torinese) (A Medieval Inventory and Records of a Lost Castle, Balangero Torinese) by Don Costantino Rosa Brusin and Don Cino Borghezio, the following is noted about the castle: “Other towers certainly existed, and one outside the castle enclosure is mentioned in roll II of the castellany of Balangero (1347).”

This theory is further supported by the building’s unique circular shape and a single small window facing southeast. Additionally, it is not listed among the parishes and churches that paid the cattedratico (cathedral tax) to the Bishop of Turin.

In 1386, Balangero had only two recorded churches: “Ecclesia Sancti Iacobi de Bellengerio” and “Ecclesia Sancti Victoris de Bellengerio.” By the late 16th century, the castle ceased to function as a fortress, likely paving the way for the small building’s transformation into a devotional chapel. Nonetheless, its origins remain uncertain due to the absence of written records, possibly destroyed in 1708 during the French siege when the village was attacked. The historical archive, then kept in the Church of San Rocco, was burned in that event with great disregard.

The first document mentioning the Chapel of San Biagio dates from 1594 and is the report of the pastoral visit by the Archbishop of Turin, Monsignor Carlo Broglio. A far more detailed description comes from 1771, during another pastoral visit by Archbishop Francesco Rorengo di Rorà: “This Chapel is built on the hillside between Balangero and Lanzo, in the locality known as San Biagio, vaulted, whitewashed, spherical in form with a bitumen floor, though worn in places. Its door closes very well. It has a single wooden window fitted with a grille. The exterior walls are damaged down to the foundations, with very large openings visible; shrubs grow all around. Above the door a window opens, giving access to the vault. The altar is set against the wall. It is of masonry. On it is placed a panel bearing the chapel’s dedication. But it is torn in places. Furthermore, it lacks any ornament. It is, as a work, entrusted to the Parish Church. (…)”

The building was in poor condition, so much so that the Archbishop ordered: “The altar icon, somewhat damaged, shall be repaired within the year, under penalty of interdict of the said altar. The exterior walls of the Chapel, damaged almost to the foundations, shall be repaired within six months, and the large holes open on the outside shall be sealed within the same period. (…)”

In more recent times, the chapel’s upkeep was managed for many years by Giovanni Calvetti Bias, a First World War veteran; the wooden door decorated with large studs is his work. The Calvetti Bias family and other families from the Lanzo Valleys organised the feast of San Biagio on 3 February. By the end of the 1950s, the tradition had been lost. In 1978–79, the Balangero Alpini Group undertook the restoration and enhancement of the building, which became the Alpine Shrine of San Biagio, inaugurated on 8 July 1979. They built an impressive and striking flight of steps.

The building houses a permanent exhibition of numerous important artefacts donated by Balangero families. To mark the 90th anniversary of the Group’s founding and the 35th anniversary of the Shrine’s inauguration, the “Garden of Remembrance in Honour of the Fallen Without a Cross” was established in the area in front of the chapel.