The abbey of 'The Name of the Rose' on the cliff
Perched on the top of Monte Pirchiriano, at 962 metres, at the entrance to the Val di Susa west of Turin, the Sacra di San Michele is an imposing abbey that seems to grow out of the rock, and is the symbol of the Piedmont region. Founded between 983 and 987 and dedicated to the Archangel Michael, it was one of the most important Benedictine abbeys in Europe, a stop on the pilgrimage route that linked Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy to the sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo in Apulia, along the "Via Micaelica".
The approach is spectacular: after climbing the mountain, you pass through the ruins of the monks' quarters and enter the Scalone dei Morti, the "Staircase of the Dead", a steep, monumental staircase carved into the rock, where until the twentieth century the skeletons of the monks were displayed in niches. At the top is the Porta dello Zodiaco, a Romanesque portal with the signs of the zodiac and constellations carved by Master Nicholas around 1120. The church, built partly on the summit of the rock, which emerges from its floor, holds frescoes and the tombs of members of the Savoy family. The view from the terraces sweeps over the Val di Susa and the plain of Turin. Its appearance inspired Umberto Eco in the creation of the abbey of The Name of the Rose.
Tip: the Sacra can be reached by car or on foot along the old mule track from Sant'Ambrogio, about an hour and a half of climbing.
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