History
The coat of arms of the village represents two oak trees, because of the presence of this plants on the territory; today you can still find some of them on the rivers of the Belbo creek. This fact confirms also what some ancient documents state about the name of the place namely that “Cerretum” and “Cerrae”, from the Latin cerrus, refers just to these plants.
In the Middle Ages Cerretto Langhe had a castle with four towers, it was property of the family Carretto di Gorzegno.
The fief passed then under the lead of the marquis of Susa (XIII century) and after became property of Bonifacio di Savona, who, in 1142, left it as inheritance to the marquises of Ceva and Cortemilia. The last owners were the members of the Cerretto family, it is an example of the symbiosis between the village and the feudatory.
Churches
Church of Sant’Andrea Church of SS. Annunziata
- Church of Sant’Andrea: The current “Chiesa dei disciplinati sotto l’invocazione di S.Andrea”, which represents the ancient parish church of Cerretto Langhe, is located in the heart of the old borough at the feet of the «fortress with the four towers, belonging to the Carretto di Gorzegno family» (today demolished). It was the only church of the city centre until the construction, in 1612, of the current parish church, dedicated to the Santissima Annunziata. It was the confraternity of Sant’Andrea until the second half of this century; periodically religious functions were celebrated. It was probably built in the XIII century, from the original structure survives only the stone tower, whose keystone on the entry arch presents a sculpted lamb. In 1585 the church was modified, as witnesses the epigraph on the entrance portal of the nave, behind the tower (“LAUS DEO MDLXXXV“). Of the same period could be also the fragments of the frescos on the left side. With this restyling probably the was established the current aspect of the nave, which is tripartite with cross vaults and pilasters with stucco capitals. The painting decorations are baroque and they are still visible in the rectangular apse, in which arises the nice vault representing the saint and the polychrome faux marble altar. Another change, difficult to date, is the closure of the arches of the XIII century tower with a wood portal. The building had been restored between 1997 and 1998 thanks to the contribute of the Regione Piemonte.
- Church of SS. Annunziata: this building is very interesting for the neo-Gothic and eclectic architecture of the second half of the nineteenth century as, together with other examples, it represents one of the most convincing results in the vast work of the now famous architect-surveyor Giovanni Schellino. In the Baroque era there was a first rearrangement, which brought the sacred building, with a simple hall, to a division into three naves. On the facade some traces of this intervention have been highlighted, hidden by nineteenth-century plaster. The neo-Gothic reconstruction carried out by the architect Schellino in 1864 was set on the previous perimeter, and has preserved several parts of the pre-existing church. The events of the construction of the parish church of Santissima Annunziata di Cerretto Langhe are part of that dense intertwining of styles and architectural typologies that marked Schellini’s work. The interior of the parish church of Cerretto Langhe is completely decorated, with half-columns, columns and arches treated in bands of alternating yellow and pink color. The vault is represented as a starry sky with a very intense blue background and dense yellow stars. The most prominent figurative decorations are located on the sides of the apse, in the baptistery and in the second order of the central nave, where the twelve apostles are depicted with the technique of light and dark signed by the painter Rossi. We find the same signature in the wall decorations of the choir. Worthy of further study and study are the two large figured panels of the presbytery. The exterior of the building was restored in the years 1996-1998, thanks to the contribution of the Municipality of Cerretto Langhe, the Province of Cuneo and the Piedmont Region.
- Church of the Madonna di Loreto della Cerretta: there is no certain information on the votive pillar existing in the hamlet of Cerretta; for sure it is known that it is older than the adjacent church also dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto (1716). In fact, the first nucleus, the innermost one, bears the inscription “1616” painted. The popular tradition wants its construction following a miraculous event that occurred in that same place. The frescoes depicting respectively most probably date back to that date: on the west side the Virgin and Child, surrounded by winged putti and surmounted by a white dove; on the south side a figure in an ecclesial dress with a purple-red cloak in a blessing attitude; on the north side a figure of a saint also with Child. The small barrel vault of the internal sector has a blue background with yellow stars. The forepart has two windows with openings on the north and south sides and a wrought iron entrance door on the east side. Externally, the building is presented in a simple form with a two-pitched roof in concrete tiles. Currently, thanks to the contribution of the Municipality of Cerretto Langhe, of the Province of Cuneo and the intervention of the local volunteer work, restoration is underway.