Dense forests of the alpine foothills of the Val Pellice Valley reliably hides the settlement from package tourists. People come here not to travel, but escape. Escape from the bustle of the city, from the industrial stench, from the executioners of the system.

Eight centuries ago, the Waldensians, Christian preachers of the teachings of the Waldensian Church, took refuge here from the Inquisitions. The Waldensians did not recognise traditional Catholic rites and indulgences, advocated apostolic poverty, mutual assistance, as well as worldly preaching and freedom to read the Bible. This was enough to recognise them as heretics and burn them at the stake.

Here the Waldensians managed to survive and preserve their identity to this day. A distinctive feature of the Waldensian movement was a high level of education. There was a school in every village. At the end of the 19th century, literacy rates in Waldensian settlements were among the highest in Europe.
And today, despite the relative distance from the big cities, Val Pellice is famous for its rich cultural life. Literary and music festivals, farm fairs, and exhibitions of contemporary art are held here throughout the year.

Since 2017, Stone Oven House has organically supplemented the cultural life of the valley with its events.

However, the process of integration in such a place takes a long time and requires some effort. We hope that we can make a worthy contribution to the development of the culture of the Valpellice Valley and the village of Rora in particular. When selecting applications from future residents, we give preference to authors who are willing to enter into dialogue with inhabitants of the Valley. We are interested in projects that involve the cultural and historical context of the territory.