The local church is a treasure of architecture:
dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, it was constructed between 1718 and 1731, thanks to Count Pietro Ignazio Carroccio interest. Made in the baroque style, its harmony is probably due to the origin of its drawings, which have been inspired by the School of Juvarra, architect of Turin of the year 1700.
By looking at the elegant front, which owed its rusticity to the total absence of roughcast, you can notice the lovely sculptured gate. Inside it, you can find a nice decoration done in 1885 and an important organ.
The church has been constructed high in the village to avoid damage due to flooding, as it happened with the former church in 1473, which was on the actual Abegg Square.
Several arches and 14 chapels are on Villar Focchiardo territory. They are either in the village, or on the mountain. Close to the church is the Cappella di Loreto (Loreto Chapel) ; this chapel was private and belonged to the Carroccio Counts who had their Castle not far away and who used to spend their summer holidays here. Count Pietro Carroccio, senator, bought in 1655 a large part of the village and improved his castle in a baroque style. The Loreto Chapel front was decorated with frescos, which have been partly destroyed during the French occupation in 1700.
The Santuario Madonna delle Grazie (Our Lady of the Favours) better known as the Vineyard Chapel because it was located in this part of the village before the flooding.
The Cappella di Sant’Anna (Saint Anne Chapel) , is not far from the church in the little village of Castagneretto; dedicated to the parents of Our Lady, Saint Anne and Joachim, their portrait is painted on the front in 1841, and which has been rebuilt in the 70’s by a local citizen.
Going down the village, you can find the Cappella di San Rocco (Saint Roch Chapel) surrounded today by several houses. It is believed that sick people were healed here during the epidemic of plague and cholera. Saint Roch gave his life to heal the others and he died of the plague in this very place.
The Cappella della Comba (Comba Chapel) , which is located in the same name village, is dedicated to the apostle Saint Barnaba and had been blessed in 1714.
It is believed that King Carlo Alberto had offered the cross inside it to his faithful Rumiano, court gentleman. It is the only chapel, which has a bell tower with a clock, which can be heard in the countryside surrounding this parish.
The Cappella di Santa Lucia (Saint Lucie Chapel) is located in a part of the village called “The Hell”.
This wished chapel, currently private, is dedicated to the Saint Protector of the stone cutters. It has been constructed in the beginning of the 800, when extraction and stone cutting were growing.
Going downtown, in the front of the Vineyard Chapel is the Perron Palace, currently a private house, constructed at the beginning of the 19th century, which has been used by the Ursuline Sisters. The palace was covering originally, beside the garden, the complete Abegg Square.
In the garden can be always found the cooler where ice was kept.
In the palace is the Prince’s Room where Umberto of Savoy has been hosted during his visit to Villar Focchiardo.
Not far is the old fort, just currently called the Palais (the Palace) . It belonged to the Villar Focchiardo Viscount Baratonia. He sold it to Lord San Giorio, to end, after several different owners, in the hands of the Carroccio Counts. They preferred to build their home higher and further away from the torrent. For this reason, the palace kept its Middle Age designs.
Finally, along the national road SS24, you can find an old and elegant farmstead house called Cascina Roland (Roland’s House) , witness of several centuries of history and legends. Poets use to tell that, when Knight Roland arrived in this place desperate by the loss of his beloved one, he left an eternal mark of his power and of his magical sword Durlindana in the stone, which is now next to the main gate. This Cascina Roland is now, thanks to important restorations done with the support of the Comunità Montana Bassa Val Susa e Val Cenischia, a place where catering, a conference room, guest rooms and a space for temporary expositions are found. All these are gathered in the quiet but fascinating context of the Susa Valley.
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