What is Avigliana known for?

Abbey on Monte Pirchiriano above town, built 983-987, on the pilgrimage route between Mont Saint-Michel and Monte Sant'Angelo. Two glacial lakes from the Pleistocene retreat, at the heart of the Parco Naturale dei Laghi di Avigliana since 1980. 12th- to 15th-century centro storico around Piazza Conte Rosso, named for Amedeo VII of Savoy, with porticoed Romanesque and Gothic houses.

Avigliana is a comune in the province of Torino, Piedmont region of Italy, about 30 kilometers from Torino.

Piedmont · Torino

Avigliana

A medieval Savoy townat the mouth of the Susa Valley, between two glacial lakes and the Sacra di San Michele.

30 km / 19 mi

Nearest hub (Torino)

12,370

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Avigliana sitsin the lower Susa Valley, twenty-five kilometers west of Torino at the point where the Alps meet the Po plain. The first castle on Monte Pezzulano was built in 942 by the Arduinici Marquises of Turin and passed to the Counts of Savoy from 1137; Frederick Barbarossa destroyed it and Thomas I of Savoy rebuilt it, before the French marshal Catinat finally demolished it in 1691. Piazza Conte Rosso, named for Amedeo VII of Savoy, is the medieval core, surrounded by porticoed houses from the twelfth to fifteenth centuries. The Chiesa di San Pietro and the Chiesa di San Giovanni hold frescoes from the eleventh through the sixteenth century. Below the centre, two glacial lakes, Lago Grande and Lago Piccolo, sit at 352 and 356 meters in a natural park established in 1980. The Via Francigena passes through; the Sacra di San Michele, on Monte Pirchiriano above, is the abbey Umberto Eco used as the setting for The Name of the Rose.

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Gallery

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Known for

Piazza Conte Rosso
Medieval core of Avigliana, named for Amedeo VII of Savoy, surrounded by porticoed houses from the 12th to 15th centuries.
Castello di Avigliana
Ruined Savoy fortress on Monte Pezzulano, built in 942, rebuilt by Thomas I of Savoy and demolished by Marshal Catinat in 1691.
Chiesa di San Pietro
Romanesque church on the road to the lakes, decorated with frescoes from the 11th to the 16th century.
Laghi di Avigliana
Two glacial lakes, Lago Grande (90 ha) and Lago Piccolo (60 ha), inside the Parco Naturale dei Laghi established in 1980.
Sacra di San Michele
Romanesque-Gothic abbey on Monte Pirchiriano above town, built between 983 and 987 and the literary setting of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June are the green months: the moraine lakes open for kayaking and swimming, the porticoed core stays cool under shade, and the climb to the Sacra di San Michele runs free of haze. July and August touch the low thirties in the valley, though the Sacra at 962 meters carries a steady wind. September and October bring chestnuts and the wine harvest in the surrounding Pinerolese hills. November through March is quiet; the lakes mist in the mornings and many lakeside cafés reduce hours, but the centro storico stays open and the Sacra remains the photograph most visitors leave with.