[1][2] There is also evidence of the 9th-century presence of a small Romanesque church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, called Santa Maria alla Bastita.

As part of his policy of alliances aimed at consolidating his image as defender of the faith, Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy purchased the site in 1581 and donated it to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, who were at that time housed in the district of Madonna di Campagna.

Construction was resumed in 1610 under architect and military engineer Ascanio Vitozzi, who completed the design of the church as a Greek cross, freeing up a small area for the current entrance vestibule, plus a choir room behind the high altar.

He added an imposing octagonal masonry drum, terminating in a high lead dome, moving away from the Renaissance style and towards a Mannerist design.

Then, in 1799, Monte dei Cappuccini was chosen by the Austro-Russian troops as the location for the artillery that was to bombard Turin if the French, once again occupying the city, offered resistance.

During the Napoleonic occupation and the suppression of monastic orders, the monastery was temporarily designated for private use: the original dome was stripped of its lead and was then replaced in 1814, the year of the return of the Savoy family, with the smaller masonry one with an octagonal lantern.

It also became home to a small wooden hut of the Italian Alpine Club and for this reason the permanent headquarters of the “Duca degli Abruzzi” National Mountain Museum was established in the southern wing of the convent complex in 2003.