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Levone

Description

There are several schools of thought that contest the origins of the town's name: for some historians it derives from a person's name "Leonus" (the name matches the one of a Bishop who had the nearby territories under his jurisdiction), for others from "helvus" (yellow) and for others from "Helv" (a Gallic tribe that settled here in pre-Roman times). Small town near Turin, Levone is an agricultural and industrial centre of the Canavese area, located between the hill of Sepegna and the streams Malone and Levona.
The discovery of a number of Roman funerary steles evidence that the territory experienced the colonization of the Empire, which at its fall, left space to several noble families that dominated the lands over the following centuries, such as: the Descalzi, the De Alberti, the Aluiggi , the Valperga of Rivara. In the XIV century, the territory was ceded to the Marquis of Monferrato, while in the first half of the XVII, after the Treaty of Cherasco, Levone passed to the Savoy. In the XVIII century the town was conquered by the French and the end of the century it was annexed to the compartment of Dora.
In the second half of the XVIII century the town flourished economically thanks to the profitable exploitation of a limestone quarry that was closed after the Second World War.

Attractions:
- the Shrine of Our Lady of Comfort, built in the XVIII century by the architect Ogliani. The original structure, built in the XIX century, is dominated by a tympanum, to which a large porch was added, which features a series of frescoes on the outside walls of the church. It is also flanked by an original triangular shaped Bell tower;
- the Parish Church of St. James, built in the XIV century in Romanesque style and enlarged in the XVII, with the addition of the aisles and the Baroque façade;
- the Chapel of St. Peter, built in Romanesque style and decorated with frescoes;
- the Church of St. Anthony with a valuable fresco on the superb façade;
- the small Church of Santa Rita;
- the XIII century main door of the old Hospital shelter, today entrance to a Bell tower;
- the medieval town centre;
- the XIX century Villa Bertot, surrounded by a beautiful park, which now houses, among other things, the offices of the Town Hall.

Map

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