Piedmont · Torino
Avigliana
A medieval Savoy town at the mouth of the Susa Valley, between two glacial lakes and the Sacra di San Michele.
Known for
SACRA DI SAN MICHELE
Abbey on Monte Pirchiriano above town, built 983-987, on the pilgrimage route between Mont Saint-Michel and Monte Sant'Angelo.
LAGHI MORENICI
Two glacial lakes from the Pleistocene retreat, at the heart of the Parco Naturale dei Laghi di Avigliana since 1980.
MEDIEVAL CORE
12th- to 15th-century centro storico around Piazza Conte Rosso, named for Amedeo VII of Savoy, with porticoed Romanesque and Gothic houses.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: Giovanni Battista, 24 June
Why come
Avigliana sits in 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.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Avigliana’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
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What to see
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.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Avigliana fits in a slow Italy circuit.
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Living here
- Population 12,370
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Turin, 38 min drive
- Regional capital Torino, 36 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
The numbers
- Elevation: 383 m
- Population: 12,370
- Surface area: 23.22 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
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