Rich in museums, libraries, historical archives, modern art galleries, it has always been a destination for historical, religious and cultural tourism. An ideal place for hikers and mountain enthusiasts, who can quickly reach the alpine refuges and surrounding peaks, it also boasts a varied and appreciated gastronomic tradition.
The history of Torre Pellice is closely linked to the events of the valley and the Waldensian people. Already at the beginning of the thirteenth century we have evidence of the existence in the valley of numerous families adhering to the movement that arose in France in the twelfth century by Pietro Valdo.
With the accession of the Waldensians to the Protestant Reformation (1532) the territory became a place for religious and cultural exchanges at a European level. “The nineteenth century sees the consolidation of industrialization in Torre, with a marked demographic increase: from 2343 inhabitants in 1819, to 6000 at the beginning of 1900. With the town expansion, commercial activities grew as well and in 1882 the Pinerolo-Torre Pellice railway connection was built.
Today the town is a dynamic reality with a strong tourist interest that excels for its natural, historical, cultural, artistic, culinary and sporting attractions.
The vast pedestrian area begins in Piazza S. Martino. Here you can find the Catholic Church complex (neoclassical facade, single central nave, very high dome), and the adjoining Mauritian Priory, in front of the “Carlo Alberto Fountain”, designed by architect Mellano at the behest of the king, as engraved in the inscription “The King Carlo Alberto to the people who welcomed him with so much affection”.
It continues throughout the town, where you can find touristic-commercial activities typical of the area, and ends in the “Waldensian quarter”. In addition to the Temple (in Romanesque style, with three naves, apse, gallery and facade characterized by two lateral bell towers), here you can find other historical buildings as well: the Waldensian House with the synodal hall on the ground floor where the Synod, the Pastoral House, the former Professors’ Houses (residences of the Waldensian college teachers) meet in assembly every year, the Unionist House, the Historical-ethnographic Museum, the Waldensian College, today a European high school and the Waldensian Foresteria an important accommodation facility for tourists visiting the town.
The weekly market is held on Friday mornings along the streets of the town center. On the second Saturday of each month, the pedestrian area hosts the market for organic and craft products.
In some periods of the year, important tourist and commercial fairs are organized in Torre Pellice, in summer cultural events and gastronomic-musical evenings that attract many people are also organized.
Throughout the year it is possible to visit thematic exhibitions and participate in meetings and conferences at the civic gallery of contemporary art “Filippo Scroppo” and the Waldensian Cultural Center.
From the town center it is possible to reach, in a short time, suggestive places surrounded by greenery through a rich network of paths.
In the Ice Stadium, built for the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, the first hockey club in Piedmont, founded in 1934, “Valpellice Bulldogs”, followed by a very high number of supporters, plays ice hockey.