Rucias Fortified House with 17th-Century Fresco

Site overview

In 1909, work commenced on the Turin aqueduct, and the old centre of Balme was demolished to make way for the provincial road to Pian della Mussa. The oven, the wash house, and two ancient chapels were destroyed, but fortunately the fortified house of Routchàss was preserved. For over four hundred years, it has dominated the valley from the rocky outcrop after which it is named.

The building features a defensive design, evident in its small openings and a single narrow, low entrance. This entrance leads to a rugged stone staircase and then to a lengthy corridor, from which many rooms branch off, formerly used as a stable and living space. Surrounding the area are additional staircases, underground passages, and cellars, some of which are partly carved out of the rock.

On the opposite side, which is inaccessible from below and faces the sun, the Routchàss opens into covered loggias that overlook the deep gorge where the torrent flows after the waterfall’s great leap. On the upper floor, a large granary stored fodder for livestock throughout the long winter. A massive roof, supported by giant-diameter beams and covered with unusually thick stone slabs, spans the entire structure. In the past, before road demolitions, it provided access to the fountain, oven, washhouse, and chapel without ever needing to step outside. This was especially valuable given the heavy snowfalls that periodically envelop the village of Balme. On the building’s exterior walls, 17th-century frescoes commissioned by Gian Castagnero can be seen.

The frescoes, some of which are obscured by plaster, depict scenes from the lives of the Baptist, including the Baptism of Jesus and the Feast of King Herod. They were created to celebrate Gioanino’s marriage to Anna Genoa of Ala. The wedding took place in 1601 at the Routchàss, with a dispensation from the Bishop because the bride was already present and seriously ill.

Thanks to this precedent, Gian Castagnero secured the autonomy of both the municipality (1610) and the parish (1612) of Balme, which had previously been dependent on Ala di Stura. The bride’s illness cannot have been very serious, however, since the marriage produced a veritable legion of children and grandchildren who quickly absorbed all the other families in Balme, to the point that today all the people of Balme are, in one way or another, descendants of Gian Castagnero, and many still bear his name.