CHIESA DI SAN GIOVANNI BATTISTA - CESANA

Cesana Torinese is dominated by the parish church dedicated to St John the Baptist, which preserves in its three apses, façade and bell tower the forms of the primitive 11th-century church, still visible even after subsequent reworking; of interest are the 16th-century portal with the Delfini coats of arms, the Bousson marble baptismal font and the 18th-century carved wooden ceiling coffers by François Ruas du Pont. The bell tower echoes the motif of the finale with a square tower surmounted by an octagonal spire and four pyramidal acroteria. Legend has it that the feudal lord of Cesana, Tolosano, who was disliked by the people for his tyranny, was defenestrated through a triple lancet window in the bell tower. The marquis was invited to climb the bell tower and while he was leaning on the small column of a triple lancet window, he was given a treacherous push and fell from the top, killing himself. The small column, which had previously been broken, also fell to the ground, was never replaced and is still missing from the triple lancet window facing Bousson.