Castagnole delle Lanze - Balbo Square and ex Oratory of Saint John the Baptist

The current appearance of Balbo Square is attributable to the great development that in the nineteenth century obtained the weekly market of Castagnole delle Lanze, which became over time the most important in the area. Already in the first years of the century, under the French domination, the need was felt to expand the extreme part of the ancient market square by levelling a small area called ‘the terrace’: a belvedere over the valley of the Prello with meadows, vineyards and mulberry trees. In 1877 the long massive wall was built so that, on Thursday morning, the new square could host part of the large market. The benches, placed along the wall, were full of fabrics, in autumn of truffles, but above all of cheeses that the women of the Mango carried in the baskets. The rest of the square was reserved for the sale of living poultry and eggs. For this last reason, the ancient popular name of the area is piassa dle galin-e (chickens’ square).

In the upper part of the square, right next to the church of the Battuti, there was the wing of the market: a building built in 1811 that, under its large arches, hosted additional benches; the ground was used by children for the competitions of marbles, while the roof was occupied by the adults for the game of pantalera, a variant of Pallapugno.

Today Balbo Square is dominated by the elegant seventeenth-century building of the deconsecrated oratory of Saint John the Baptist built in 1668. The oratory once belonged to the company of white Battuti, called batù bianch, born in Castagnole in the late Middle Ages. Their church was the largest building in the town, with a simple and elegant façade, typical of the seventeenth-century Piedmontese Baroque style. The interior, sober and bright, hosted an altar in white marble and an organ equipped with silver pipes. In 1831 the exterior was further enriched with the construction of a slender bell tower.

The damage caused to the oratory during the war period and the subsequent dissolution of the company of the Battuti determined the abandonment of the building, deconsecrated and stripped of its furnishings. The oratory was converted into a parish hall and cinema in 1948. Today, thanks to the restoration of the municipality in 2007, the building has recovered its original external beauty and the ancient seventeenth-century stone and brick floor, becoming the ideal space for important cultural events.