Salesian places links
Salesian links
This page gathers the main places linked to Don Bosco, to the saints of the Salesian Family and to the origins of the Congregation. It is an itinerary that crosses Piedmont — from Valdocco, the historical heart of the work, to Colle Don Bosco where it all began, passing through Chieri, Valsalice and the villages of the childhood of Domenic Savio and Mary Domenica Mazzarello — and reaches Rome, where Don Bosco lived some of the most intense moments of his mission.
For each place you will find a brief description that recounts its historical and spiritual significance. Alongside the sites to visit in person, we also point out the virtual tours, which allow you to draw near from a distance to the most important basilicas and museums. Whether it be a pilgrimage, a cultural visit or a journey of reflection, this map aims to be a guide for rediscovering the roots and the educational spirituality born around Don Bosco.
| Country | ISP | SDB house | Name | Location | Postcode | Postal address | GPS coordinates1 | GPS coordinates2 | Phone | Website | Info | ||
| 1 | Italy | ICP | Mother House of the Salesians, Valdocco | Turin | 45.0815407, 7.6762512 | Turin | https://valdocco.it/ | The historical heart of the Salesian work, Valdocco preserves the memory of the first oratories and of the house where Don Bosco formed generations of young people, Salesians and missionaries. The complex gathers places of prayer, education and welcome, including the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians, the Camerette and the spaces linked to the origins of the Salesian Congregation. | |||||
| 2 | Italy | ICP | Mother House of the Salesians, Valdocco. Hospitality | Turin | 45.0806497, 7.6760017 | Turin | https://basilicamariaausiliatrice.it/ospitalita/ | Welcome area linked to the Mother House of Valdocco, designed for pilgrims, youth groups, families and visitors who wish to live a Salesian experience in Don Bosco’s places. Hospitality makes it easier to take part in visits, moments of prayer, formative meetings and itineraries to discover the educational spirituality born in Valdocco. | |||||
| 3 | Italy | ICP | Museo Casa Don Bosco, Valdocco | Turin | 45.0813939, 7.6767796 | Turin | https://museocasadonbosco.org/ | It includes the Camerette of Don Bosco, where the saint lived and worked for 27 years, and the rooms that tell the story of the origins of the Salesian work. The museum itinerary preserves memories, objects, documents and spaces linked to daily life in Valdocco, offering a historical and spiritual reading of Don Bosco’s educational mission. | |||||
| 4 | Italy | ICP | Museo Casa Don Bosco, Valdocco. Virtual tour | Turin | 45.0813939, 7.6767796 | Turin | https://museocasadonbosco.it/virtualtour/ITA/ | A digital itinerary that makes it possible to visit remotely the Museo Casa Don Bosco and the most significant spaces of Valdocco. The virtual tour highlights the Camerette, the rooms of the origins and the main Salesian memories, offering a first contact with the history, spirituality and educational heritage born around Don Bosco. | |||||
| 5 | Italy | ICP | Basilica of Mary Help of Christians | Turin | 45.0810715, 7.6759955 | Turin | https://basilicamariaausiliatrice.it/ | A central place in Valdocco and the shrine Don Bosco wanted in honour of Mary Help of Christians. The Basilica preserves a strong spiritual and Salesian memory, linked to the Pinardi Chapel, the church of St Francis de Sales and the Museo Casa Don Bosco. It is a privileged destination for pilgrimages, celebrations and visits to the places of the origins. | |||||
| 6 | Italy | ICP | Basilica of Mary Help of Christians. Virtual tour | Turin | 45.0810715, 7.6759955 | Turin | https://basilicamariaausiliatrice.it/virtual-tour/ | A digital itinerary dedicated to the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians, its artistic heritage and its importance in the history of Valdocco. The virtual tour allows visitors to draw near to the spaces of the shrine and to the Salesian significance of the place, offering an introductory visit useful for pilgrims, schools, groups and lovers of Salesian history. | |||||
| 7 | Italy | ICP | Salesian High School, Valsalice | Turin | 45.0540004, 7.7021509 | Turin | https://valsalice.it/ | A historic Salesian site: Don Bosco was buried here from 1888 to 1929, before his remains were transferred to Valdocco. The church was erected in his honour and the school complex preserves a strong educational tradition. The science museum is linked to the history of the Valsalice Salesian High School and its contribution to the formation of young people. | |||||
| 8 | Italy | ICP | Don Bosco Museum of Natural History, Valsalice | Turin | 45.0540004, 7.7021509 | Turin | https://valsalice.it/museo-di-storia-naturale-don-bosco/ | It gathers natural history collections that grew out of the educational context of the Valsalice Salesian High School. The museum bears witness to the Salesian attention to study, science and popular outreach, making specimens, teaching materials and educational programmes available. It is a place where the Salesian school tradition meets research and curiosity for creation. | |||||
| 9 | Italy | ICP | Colle Don Bosco – Becchi/Morialdo, Castelnuovo Don Bosco | Colle Don Bosco | 45.0088061, 7.9897413 | Colle Don Bosco | https://colledonbosco.org/ | The place of the birth and childhood of John Bosco, between the Becchi and Morialdo. The complex includes a basilica, the birthplace, museums, spaces for prayer and welcome. It is a fundamental stop for understanding the family, rural and spiritual roots of Don Bosco, the dream at nine years of age and the origin of his educational mission. | |||||
| 10 | Italy | ICP | Don Bosco Missionary Ethnological Museum | Colle Don Bosco | 45.0083206, 7.9880531 | Colle Don Bosco | https://colledonbosco.org/home/museo-etnologico-missionario-don-bosco/ | A museum dedicated to the Salesian missionary memory and to the encounter with different peoples and cultures. It preserves objects, documents and testimonies from the missions, telling of the educational, evangelising and social commitment of the Salesians in the world. The itinerary helps one to grasp the universal dimension of Don Bosco’s charism and the history of its missionary expansion. | |||||
| 11 | Italy | ICP | Don Bosco Visitor Centre | Chieri | 45.0083705, 7.8286831 | Chieri | https://donboscochieri.it/visite/ | A museum space in the historic centre of Chieri dedicated to the decade Don Bosco spent in the town. The itinerary highlights the places of his formation, study, work and decisive friendships, setting them within the Don Bosco urban trail. It is a gateway to the Chieri that helped mature John Bosco’s priestly vocation. | |||||
| 12 | Italy | ICP | Cascina Moglia | Moncucco Torinese | 45.0538338, 7.9288223 | Moncucco Torinese | https://www.cascinamoglia.it/ | The place where young John Bosco lived as a farmhand between 1827 and 1828, experiencing hardship, work and personal growth. Today the farmhouse is valued as a place of memory, activity and welcome, recalling a decisive stage in the human and vocational journey of the young Bosco. | |||||
| 13 | Italy | ICP | Salesians San Benigno | San Benigno Canavese | 45.2222803, 7.7830810 | San Benigno Canavese | https://salesianisb.net/don-bosco-e-i-salesiani/ | A Salesian work linked to the origins of the Congregation: Don Bosco secured the premises in 1878 and in 1879 the clerics arrived. San Benigno became an important place for the formation and development of the Salesian work, contributing to the growth of the Congregation and to the preparation of educators and missionaries. | |||||
| 14 | Italy | ICP | Don Bosco Walk – Turin – Chieri – Colle Don Bosco | https://www.camminodonbosco.eu/ | A historical and spiritual itinerary of almost 200 km linking Turin-Valdocco, Chieri, Cascina Moglia, Riva near Chieri and Colle Don Bosco. The walk allows visitors to revisit the decisive places in Don Bosco’s life through stages on foot, cultural routes and moments of interiority, combining historical memory, spirituality and the Piedmont landscape. | ||||||||
| 15 | Italy | RMG | Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus | Rome | 41.9025287, 12.5023811 | Rome | https://www.basilicadelsacrocuore.it/ | A Roman shrine called for by Don Bosco and built with great sacrifices in the last years of his life. Beside the basilica an educational work for the poor young people of the city grew up. The Sacro Cuore preserves an especially vivid memory of Don Bosco’s commitment in Rome and of his bond with the universal Church. | |||||
| 16 | Italy | RMG | Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Virtual tour | Rome | 41.9025484, 12.5023950 | Rome | https://www.donbosco.press/case-salesiane/visita-alla-basilica-del-sacro-cuore-di-gesu-a-roma-anche-in-3d/ | A digital itinerary dedicated to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Rome and to the connected Salesian spaces. The virtual tour allows one to discover the history of the shrine, the educational work that grew up beside the church and the memory of Don Bosco in the capital, offering an introductory visit that is also accessible remotely. | |||||
| 17 | Italy | RMG | Don Bosco’s Camerette in Rome | Rome | 41.9025287, 12.5023811 | Rome | https://www.donboscoaroma.org/ | Among the most intimate and significant places in Rome, where Don Bosco lived, worked, prayed and received collaborators and benefactors. The Camerette preserve the memory of his twenty journeys to Rome, of the fundamental decisions for the Congregation and of the saint’s last years. They are one of the strongest places of Salesian spirituality. | |||||
| 18 | Italy | ICP | Parish Church of St Andrew the Apostle | Castelnuovo Don Bosco | 45.0433400, 7.9634048 | Castelnuovo Don Bosco | https://colledonbosco.org/home/parrocchia/ | The parish church of Castelnuovo d’Asti, today Castelnuovo Don Bosco, where John Bosco was baptised on 17 August 1815, the day after his birth. In the baptismal register he is listed as Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; the sacrament was administered by Fr Giuseppe Festa. The place recalls the beginning of the Christian journey of the future saint. | |||||
| 19 | Italy | ICP | Birthplace of St Dominic Savio | San Giovanni di Riva presso Chieri | 45.0059741, 7.8938193 | San Giovanni di Riva presso Chieri | https://casettasandomenicosavio.it/ | Birthplace of Saint Dominic Savio, born on 2 April 1842 to Carlo Savio and Brigida Gaiato, second of ten children. The hamlet preserves the memory of the family origins of Don Bosco’s young pupil, later proposed as a model of youthful holiness. Today it is valued as a centre of spirituality and visiting. | |||||
| 20 | Italy | ICP | House of St Dominic Savio | Morialdo | 45.0203586, 7.9880474 | Morialdo | https://basilicamariaausiliatrice.it/luoghi-di-domenico-savio/ | Domenico Savio’s second home: in November 1843, when Domenico was not yet two years old, the Savio family moved to Morialdo for work reasons. The place recalls the years of childhood and the simple setting in which religious sensibility, family life and the first steps of the future saint took shape. | |||||
| 21 | Italy | ICP | House of Dominic Savio’s death | Mondonio | 45.0389732, 7.9935434 | Mondonio | The house of Mondonio where Dominic Savio died on 9 March 1857, in the little room next to the kitchen. He spent about twenty months there, after the decisive experience at Valdocco which lasted two years and four months. The place preserves the memory of the last days of the young saint and of his serene witness of faith. | ||||||
| 22 | Italy | ICP | Casa Natia Santa Maria Mazzarello | Mornese | 44.6351726, 8.7635932 | Mornese | Birthplace of Saint Maria Domenica Mazzarello, in the hamlet of Mazzarelli, next to the “Mazzarelli” Holiday Home and the sanctuary dedicated to her. Here, in 1837, was born the future co-foundress of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, a decisive figure for Salesian educational spirituality for women. | ||||||
| 23 | Italy | ICP | Cascina Valponasca | Valponasca | 44.6509263, 8.7587731 | Valponasca | Farmhouse to which the Mazzarello family moved after the years at the birthplace. The Valponasca is one of the most significant places of Maria Domenica Mazzarello’s youth: it recalls country life, work, prayer and the spiritual horizon that contributed to the maturing of her vocation and of her future educational mission. |
