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The Val di Susa

The Val di Susa in Piedmont is the place in which the book The Name of the Rose (Amazon affiliate link) comes to life for me.  

Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose is one of Italy's great novels. The story was later made into a film starring Sean Connery, with the mysterious medieval monastery at its center.

The monastery you see in the film wasn't actually the Sacra di San Michele. The exterior used for the movie was a specially constructed set. But the Sacra is the real thing that makes the whole story come alive for me. 

Perched dramatically on Mount Pirchiriano above the Val di Susa, the Sacra di San Michele looks exactly like the sort of place you would expect to find at the centre of a medieval mystery.

It is one of those places where the setting is almost as impressive as the building itself. Read more about this monastery—the Sacra di San Michele—here.

If you are planning on spending a few days in the area, then Chiomonte (more about Chiomonte later) is very central to everything—try to stay at the Al Cantoun.

The Sacra di San Michele

Discover Val di Susa the Ancient Pilgrim Way

One of the best ways to explore the Val di Susa is to think of it as a journey rather than simply a collection of sights.

For centuries, travelers and pilgrims crossed the Alps through this valley on their way towards France. Today you can follow part of the same route, beginning in Turin and gradually making your way into the mountains.

Your first stop should be Rivoli, where the old Savoy connection is immediately apparent. The Castello di Rivoli, now the Museum of Modern Art, is housed in one of the castles belonging to the Savoy Royal Family; it is a lovely, if rather unexpected, beginning to a journey that will soon become decidedly medieval.

Further along the route is the extraordinary complex of Sant'Antonio di Ranverso. The Gothic church was part of a medieval religious and hospital complex on the Via Francigena, where pilgrims and travelers could receive assistance. Inside are remarkable fifteenth-century frescoes by Giacomo Jaquerio.

This is one of those places where it pays to slow down. It is easy to drive past on the way into the mountains, but you would be missing one of the valley's most interesting pieces of medieval history.

The Two Lakes of Avigliana

These lakes are the major attractions for those spending a day out from Turin, and the restaurants along their shores, catering to the high standards of those from Turin, are all of good quality.

The lakes both form part of the Lakes of Avigliana National Park, and the area is popular with birdwatchers—I am not much of a birdwatcher, so I can’t really add too much here, other than saying that it is apparently a good place to see the Germani Reali.

I have no idea what a Germani Reali is in English or even Italian, but an Italian birdwatching friend tells me you can see one here if you are interested. Is it worth a trip from abroad to see this bird? Even with the cheap flights to Turin these days, I wouldn’t bother, but, well, my friend tells me it is, and people come from all over to see them.

A Well Kept Secret

Near Avigliana there is a great agritourism farm and restaurant that is a shrine to local Piedmont gastronomy—unknown to but a few and only serving dinner on Saturday and lunch on Sunday—it is worth finding if you are serious about Italian food and, more particularly, authentic Piemontese cuisine. Click here for details.

The Val di Susa also has a lot of great castles. Some of the best ones are the Castle of Conte Verde in Condove and the Castle Borello near Bussoleno. The absolute best of all, though, is the Castle known as the Forte di Exilles

Next on the Val di Susa/Piedmont tour must be the city of Susa—the biggest city in the valley but still only a small town and nothing really special. Susa has a few interesting sites—most notable are the eleventh-century cathedral of San Giusto, the Roman-era city gate in Piazza San Giusto, and the Roman baths.

The last stop on the tour is Chiomonte. I spend a lot of time here because our best friends, Guido and his wife and son, have their weekend house up here. This is a lovely little town on the train line from Turin/Torino.

The town is a great place to get away from it all for a long weekend, either in winter or summer. In winter there is little better than drinking a glass of red wine in front of a raging fire and looking out at the snow on the surrounding mountain peaks.

In summer it is just as great: a long lunch al fresco washed down with a good glass of the finest red wine from Piedmont and finished with a double espresso before relaxing in the shade of the olive trees.

Once the lunch has been digested, a walk up one of the surrounding hills is suggested—this way you also get to meet the rest of Chiomonte enjoying their early evening walk.

If you need somewhere to stay in Chiomonte, try the Al Cantoun. There are four rooms, and the restaurant serves traditional Piemontese food. It is also only about 600 meters from the railway station, which makes it particularly useful if you don't want to drive everywhere.

Wines & Festivals

Try to get to Chiomonte on the 20th of January for the festa of San Sebastiano, the patron saint of Chiomonte. All the youth of the town dress in period costume, and dancing and eating in the main piazza is the order of the day. The focus is “la puenta,” a symbol of good luck and around which the ladies of the town dance.

Chiomonte is famous for having the highest vineyards in Piedmont (click for details), and the festa is the culmination of the wines of ice project, or Eisweine, and the frozen grapes are gathered from the terraces of the Cantina la Maddalena.

To end, Chiomonte has some lovely old churches worth seeing. The Church of Santa Caterina dates back to the twelfth century, and the Church of Santa Maria has some wonderful frescoes. Chiomonte was the birthplace of Admiral Andrea Agnes des Geneys—the man who started the navy of the Savoy royals in the early 1800s.

What Else to See

There's the awe-inspiring Fortress of Fenestrelle nearby, which you absolutely must visit. It is commonly known as the Great Wall of Europe and is second only to the Great Wall of China in terms of length. It took 120 years to build and covers over a million square meters.

Not far from the fortress is little Usseaux; it is often said to be one of Italy's loveliest villages. You've got to try the local cheese infused with violets—it's called formaggio delle viole and is quite addictive. The trouble is you'll never find it anywhere else but here.

Don't forget to visit the nearby great ski resorts of Bardonecchia and Sestriere. The scenery is spectacular, and there are great walks in summer through the surrounding countryside. 

Where is the Val di Susa?

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