80th Anniversary of the Restoration of the Municipality of Rorà

Eighty years of regained autonomy

In 2026, the Municipality of Rorà, a tiny mountain village in the Pellice Valley within the Metropolitan City of Turin, celebrates an anniversary that strikes at the heart of its identity: eighty years since its re-establishment as an autonomous municipality. This is a civic and historical milestone that invites the entire community to reclaim a decisive chapter of its history, when a village of just a few hundred inhabitants won back the right to self-governance.

A story of suppression and rebirth

During the Fascist era in the late 1920s, Rorà lost its administrative autonomy and was merged with the neighboring Municipality of Luserna San Giovanni, along with other small valley towns. Only in the post-war period did the village return to being a fully-fledged municipality, taking its destiny back into its own hands. It is this transition—the restoration of the municipal entity—that the event aims to commemorate and celebrate, highlighting the value of local autonomy for a mountain and border territory like the Pellice Valley.

Memory as a collective celebration

More than just a ceremony, the initiative promoted by the municipal administration led by Mayor Claudia Bertinat aims to directly involve the local residents, known as rorenghi. The Rorà Study Center, with Sara Tourn, and author Giacomo Dotta will curate interviews and video testimonies from those who witnessed these events firsthand, gathering memories, documents, and stories to compile a true collective diary of the village's reconstruction. Citizens are invited to participate by sharing their own testimonies.

Rorà, heart of the Waldensian Valleys

Nestled among beech and chestnut forests at an altitude of about 960 meters, with just over two hundred inhabitants, Rorà is one of the symbolic villages of the Waldensian Valleys. Here, in the 17th century, the popular army led by Giosuè Gianavello—nicknamed the "Lion of Rorà"—held its ground against ducal troops during the persecutions of the Waldensian community. Eighty years after regaining its municipal autonomy, the village is telling its story once again, focusing on its tenacious commitment to independence.

When and where

The celebrations will take place on November 21 and 22, 2026, in Rorà, with a second commemorative moment scheduled for January 9, 2027. The event is held in the Municipality of Rorà, in the province of Turin, in the heart of Piedmont.