The church of the Blessed Virgin of Grace in Turin is locally known as the “church of the Crocetta,” named after the neighborhood in which it stands. Its history is very old: it was 1558 when a devotee, Maddalena Groppello, had a small chapel built at her own expense on the site of the present church as a votive offering. In the following centuries what was a small chapel erected for a grace received became, through transfers, enlargements and renovations, a larger Baroque-style church adorned with important 17th-century works. In 1878, the new Crocetta parish priest, Alessandro Roccati, set about building a new church: he purchased the land, and in 1887 excavations began. The church was opened for worship in 1889, not yet completed.
The Crocetta church looks like an eclectic building, reminiscent of Byzantine and early Christian temples, and is preceded by a large portico supported by columns with Ionic capitals. All the columns of the facade were made of Moncervetto’s bigio marble. The same material was used for the interior columns and balustrades.