Two years after February 17, 1848—the date Waldensians were granted civil and political rights— the Waldensian congregation of Turin requested permission to build a place of worship. The request was granted two years later. The building was designed in the neoclassical style by the architect Luigi Formento and built thanks to Giuseppe Malan, banker and general Charles Beckwith. The two men contributed to the purchase of the land. The temple was inaugurated on December 15, 1853. It has a longitudinal layout with three naves, that face towards Corso Vittorio Emanuele. The facade has a great rose window and two bell towers. Along the side wings a series of windows, spires and buttresses accentuate a sense of lightness that the structure has. Inside, the apse houses a wooden choir loft, a large pulpit, a communion table and a reading stand that holds a Bible. Next to this building is the Casa Valdese, built at a later date than the main building, designed by the architect Roberto Gabetti.