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The Sacra di San Michele: the dizzying abbey that inspired "The Name of the Rose"

1 h 45 by car♥ Favourite

The Sacra di San Michele: the dizzying abbey that inspired "The Name of the Rose"

Perched at 962 m on Monte Pirchiriano, at the entrance to the Susa valley, the abbey that symbolises Piedmont overlooks the Turin plain. Stairway of the Dead, Zodiac Door, panorama. 1 h 45 away.

4.8

Photo : Federico_Milesi, CC BY-SA 4.0

From the apartment
1 h 45 · 101 km
Season
❄️ Winter · ☀️ Summer
Duration
half a day
Budget
Low budget
🚗 Directions from the apartmentWikipedia page

The place

Founded around the year 1000, the Sacra di San Michele is one of the three great sanctuaries of Saint Michael in Europe, on a straight line running from Mont-Saint-Michel to Monte Gargano. Set on the summit of Monte Pirchiriano, it inspired Umberto Eco’s abbey in The Name of the Rose. It is the symbol monument of the Piedmont region.

The visit

  • Climb the Stairway of the Dead, cut into the rock, to the Zodiac Door carved in the 12th century.
  • The Romanesque and Gothic church, the tombs of the princes of Savoy, the ruins of the new monastery.
  • The terrace: view over the Susa valley on one side, Turin and the plain on the other.
  • Allow 1 h 30 on site; lots of steps, not well suited to pushchairs.

Practical information

  • By road: about 1 h 45 via the Fréjus tunnel and the A32 motorway, Avigliana exit. The last kilometres are hairpin bends; park, then walk 10 to 15 minutes (shuttle on certain days).
  • Online ticketing and opening times on the official website; closed on Mondays out of season: please check.
  • Combine with Avigliana and its lakes, or with Turin.

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