The Templars at
Turin
The cross and the sword - history and legend
Piedmont's geographical position has favoured the passage of peoples through its Alpine passes ever since ancient times. From the forays of the Gauls to the Roman wars of conquest, from Hannibal's Carthaginians to other more serious and recent migrations, many were the events that were added to the historical tissue of Piedmont. The same applied, though rather more marginally, to the Templars or Knights of the Temple of Jerusalem.
How they were established
The story of the Templars is closely tied with the history of the eight
Crusades (1096-1270) to the Holy Land of Palestine. This order, that united
the cross and the sword in the hands of the same warrior, monk and cavalier,
was born from the need to defend the kingdom conquered by the Crusaders.
The First Crusade was supported by Pope Urban II (1096) and preached by
Peter the Hermit with the motto Dieu le veut and nearly all its participants
were massacred in their travels through the Balkans. The expedition commanded
by Godefroi de Bouillon, Duke of Lower Lorraine, succeeded in conquering
Jerusalem in 1099 and took the name of Defender of the Holy Sepulchre. Later,
in 1118, eleven French Cavaliers guided by Hugues de Payns founded the Religious
and Military Order of the Poor Cavaliers of Christ, which adopted the monastic
rules of Saint Augustine. When Baudouin II, Godefroi's uncle, became King
of Jerusalem, the Knights settled in the ancient Temple of Solomon,
whence their name of Cavaliers of the Temple of Zion (Jerusalem) or Templars.
Who they were
The Templars were Cavaliers, generally cultured and nobles by birth, and their Grand Master held the rank of Prince. In 1128 the Order was confirmed by the Council of Troyes and then by Pope Innocence II. Founder Hugues de Payns was aided in recruiting new members by the French Abbé Bernard de Clairvaux a Cistercian preacher at the Second Crusade and convinced supporter and propagandist who exalted the humility, zeal and poverty of the Templars. In 1148 Pope Eugene II gave them the Benedictine base orders and their habit: a white mantle with a vermilion cross. At that time, the Order had already developed and grown rich thanks to the many donations received and had fortresses in Palestine. With their fortunes ensuing from their rule of poverty, the former Poor Cavaliers soon became the bankers for pilgrims and the financiers of the remarkable expenses involved to remove the Holy Land from the ... pagan hands of the infidels.
The accusations of heresy and immortality, the farcical trial
The fortunes of this sort of finance company lasted until 1307, when
French King Philippe le Beau (excommunicated by Pope Boniface VIII in 1303
and at ends with Pope Clement V), after using enormous amounts of money
given out by the Order, considered it more economically convenient to eliminate
the Templars Order and take possession of their property instead of returning
the capitals loaned for his various wars with the Aragons, the English and
the Flemish.
The Templars who had lost many of their original virtues with time, like
many other religious orders, were accused of all possible and imaginable
iniquities; Philippe le Beau had 138 Knights arrested by surprise. With
a farcical trial that lasted seven years from 1307 to 1314 and despite Pope
Clement V's timid protestations, they were all investigated and condemned;
some died under torture, others at the stake.
When the Christians lost the Holy Land, the Templars withdrew to Cyprus to preserve
the Holy Shroud (now in the Cathedral of Turin). After the great
trial, their property, especially the hospitals, were managed by two other Orders:
the Knights of Malta and the Jerusalemitans. In 1312, Pope Clement V transferred
to Avignon and decided to suppress the Order. It had existed for close on 200
years.
Settlements in Piedmont
The power of the Templars in Italy was quite limited, unlike France.
Their scant presence in Piedmont is documented by the existence of some
settlements and the ownership of churches and shelters: at Turin, the churches
of Santa Margherita del Tempio near today's Valentino Park the mansion or
shelter of San Severo, merged with the mentioned church and passed over
to the Jerusalemitans after the Order was dissolved and the Abbey of San
Giacomo di Stura with annexed hospital, north-west of Turin; at Chieri,
the Church of San Leonardo; at Ivrea, the church of San Nazario with property
at Bollengo and Burolo; at San Giorgio Canavese, the church of Santa Maria
(now San Giacomo); at Susa, the church of Santa Maria and property at San
Giorio and Villar Fioccardo; at Villastellone the church of San Martino
della Gorra and a fortified mansion and church in the San Bartolomeo area;
at Moncalieri, allegedly the Castle of La Rotta and an 1146 stone bridge
over the river Po purportedly designed by them, subsequently transferred
to the Jerusalemitans and now completely disappeared.
All Piedmont's provinces had Templar settlements. At Vercelli there is a
document dated June 16 1179 certifying the Templars' ownership of the pilgrims'
shelter of San Giacomo d'Albareto.
Vercelli had illustrious Templars; let us just mention Uguccione, Grand
Preceptor of Italy and Antonio Sicco, Secretary of the Templars in Palestine.
The imposing Abbey of Saint Michael Archangel (Protector of pilgrims) was
built on the top of Mount Pirchiriano above Avigliana in the Susa Valley
around the year 1000 AD It soon became a reference point for pilgrims travelling
from Mont Saint Michel in Normandy on their way to the Monastery of Saint
Michael on the Gargano promontory before embarking at Brindisi for their
trip to Palestine.
Turin, as ever very sensitive to mysterious events, became a centre for studies
and research on the Templars of Cavaliers of the Temple of Jerusalem, especially
during last century but few documents confirm the truth of many episodes attributed
them, at least so far.