Pinerolo: Museums, Markets and Piedmontese History

Pinerolo combines a historic city centre with museums, markets and attractions in the Pinerolese area. If you would like to combine culture and landscapes on a trip to Italy, a walking tour takes you through medieval alleyways, past palaces of power, monasteries and convents, and up to the hill of San Maurizio.

Museums of Art, Nature and Everyday History

Palazzo Vittone is home to the Pinacoteca Civica di Palazzo Vittone, the Museo Civico Etnografico del Pinerolese and the Museo Civico di Arte Preistorica. The art gallery documents the artistic production of the Pinerolese area and Piedmont with paintings, sculptures and engravings. The ethnographic museum displays everyday objects, tools, scale models of buildings and other evidence of the tangible and intangible culture of traditional communities from the plains and valleys of the Pinerolese area. The collection spans from the late 19th century to the 1950s.

The Museo d'Arte Preistorica – Museo Civico di Archeologia e Antropologia is dedicated to the physical and cultural development of humans in the Pinerolese area since prehistoric times. It also features rock art, documents relating to local archaeology, archives and an educational laboratory. The Museo Civico Didattico di Scienze Naturali “Mario Strani” is housed in Villa Prever, an Art Nouveau building set in a large park. A visit takes you from an immersive room with fluorescent minerals through areas dedicated to nocturnal animals, plains, hills, forests, fungi, aquatic habitats and mountains, and ends with a video about the relationship between humans and the natural landscape.

The Museo Diocesano includes detached 14th-century frescoes, drawings and sketches from the school of Enrico Reffo, as well as cartoons for murals by Michele Baretta. Other holdings include paintings, sculptures, textiles, liturgical metalwork, sacred vessels and archival documents that provide historical context. The Museo Storico dell’Arma di Cavalleria is located in the former Caserma Principe Amedeo and contains more than 20,000 cavalry objects in 42 rooms and 240 display cases. Casa del Senato houses the permanent exhibition “La necropoli della Doma Rossa e il territorio di Pinerolo in età romana”, with reconstructed tombs and grave goods; it is currently temporarily closed and not open to the public.

Churches, Squares and Views

Piazza del Duomo is surrounded by historic arcades and is also used today as an event venue. The Basilica di San Maurizio stands on the hill above Pinerolo and preserves 15th- and 16th-century frescoes. A visit to the recently restored bell tower of the Chiesa di San Maurizio offers views across the Pinerolese plain, towards Rocca di Cavour, over the Alps with Monviso and as far as Turin.

The Chiesa di Santa Maria Liberatrice was built at the beginning of the 17th century in honour of Maria Consolata. After the plague, it was given its name to commemorate the disease’s ending in Pinerolo, which was considered miraculous. Just outside the built-up area lies the vineyard-surrounded Santa Lucia chapel. It preserves 15th-century frescoes by Bartolomeo Serra and his workshop.

Markets, Regional Flavours and Outdoor Routes

Pinerolo’s markets take place on Wednesday and Saturday mornings and include an area with local fruit and vegetables. Characteristic establishments offer the opportunity to sample regional flavours, pastries, ice cream and typical local sweet treats. Pinerolo is also a starting point for hiking, cycling and outdoor climbing routes. In the Pinerolese area, the cycling network covers more than 750 kilometres and runs through plains, hilly terrain and mountain landscapes.

Pinerolo’s tourist and visitor information office provides information about museums, exhibitions, Royal Residences, castles, fortresses and abbeys, events, winter and summer sports, as well as restaurants and historic cafés. For further orientation, you can also select other destinations: Vinovo, Arborea, Usseaux, Frassinetto, San Maurizio Canavese, Caselette, Settimo Vittone and Poirino.

For the broader travel overview: Turin.