Characterized by the emergence of the Holy Roman Empire and the temporal power of the church, the early Middle Ages end with the year 1000. Chieri appears as a rural village, an imperial “Curtis” under the control of Landolfo, the bishop of Turin.
In his testament (1037) he recalls that in Chieri he completed the tower and the castle with higher walls that girded the Fortress of San Giorgio. Furthermore he had a church built, very quickly but artistically, not far from the castle, devoted to Holy Mary Mother of God. He had it decorated with images, vestments and vessels used for rites and other sacred ornaments. The building was demolished at the beginning of the 15th century in order to build the present gothic temple (the Cathedral), however some traces of it are still visible in the lower part of the baptistery and in the crypt.