The valley of Angrogna,Val di Angrogna, situated in theCottian Alps betweenPiedmont andFrance has historic significance for theWaldensian Church. A narrow Alpine valley starting inVal Pellice, the valley of Angrogna ends at the village ofPra del Torno which was the location of a Waldensian mission centre during The Middle Ages. Due to its narrowness, the valley was a military and religious refuge for the Waldensians andPra del Torno were the centre of Waldensian resistance from the 13th to the 18th centuries. As evidence of their persecutions, there is still a sort of catacomb located near the village of San Lorenzo.
In pre-Reformation times Waldensian missionaries were trained in a college at Pra del Torno by 'barbes', their pastors, to work as traders spreading their message across Europe. The ruins of this college still exist. There are bothCatholic andWaldensian churches today situated at Pra del Torno, as well as in a number of other villages in the valley.
Angrona was selected as the Waldensian refuge from Papal armies under Papal legate,Cataneo in 1488. Cataneo was charged by aPapal Bull to destroy the 'heretic' populations of the Waldensian valleys but the Waldensians defenders were able to repel the Papal troops' just outsidePra del Torno and protect their main population in the village from massacre. In 1532, atChanforan in Angrogna, a Waldensiansynod of churches in France,Calabria andApulia took the decision that the Waldensian Church should join theProtestant Reformation which their doctrines had prefigured.
The Waldensians in Angrogna suffered fierce persecutions throughout the 17th century but were supported byOliver Cromwell and William of Orange. In 1686,Vittorio Amedeo II, in accordance with the policy ofLouis XIV of France, began the systematic expulsion of the Waldensian valleys. Local troops destroyed the houses of Waldensians and their land in the valley was expropriated and sold to Catholics coming from elsewhere inPiedmont. After reconciling withVictor Amadeus, the Waldensians returned to their land and homes in the valley.Charles Albert of Savoy gave the Waldenses freedom to worship, in February 1848.
In the 19th century, British supporters of the Waldensians, who funded the Waldensian headquarters in nearbyTorre Pellice founded a primary school for Waldensian children living in Angrogna.
