Sacra di San Michele - Susa - Fort Exilles

Route: Turin - Sacra di San Michele - Susa - Fort Exilles - Turin
Duration: 8 h
Firstly we will visit to San Michele, one of the most important Northern Italy monuments.The Sacra di San Michele is a very famous abbey and a symbol of Piedmont. It’s a religious monument of incomparable beauty and value, and one of the most mysterious in Italy, from it’s towers you can admire Turin and a breathtaking view of the Val di Susa. The Sacra occupies with its spectacular buildings the 1000 meters high rocky peak of Mount Pirchiriano, located at the entrance of the valley of Susa, coming from Turin. French aristocrat Ugo de Monvoisier founded the abbey on Mount Pirchiriano, in the municipality of Sant’Ambrogio di Torino between 983 and 987. From then, the Sacra di San Michele became an increasingly important reference point for Benedictine monasticism in the Middle Ages, touching apex of the fame around the year one thousand. Inside the main Church of the Sacra, dating from the twelfth century, are buried members of House of Savoy  (one of the oldest royal family in the world). During the visit you will seethe most evocative elements like the statue of San Michele the Archangel, created by sculptor Paul dë Doss-Moroder ( from Alto Adige ) , the Stairway of the Dead with the Zodiac Portal and the legendary Tower of the Beautiful Alda, Church, Panoramic Terrace and Ruins of the New Monastery. Next we will visit to Susa is located on the main road  from Turin towards France (the French border is only a few kilometers from Susa). It is a pleasant town, originally established by the celts as they were holding out against the expanding Roman empire. The town attracts visitors because of its important Roman ruins and medieval monuments. Our visit we will start  in the Piazza San Giusto, the centre of the town and close to the principal monuments. The most important of the roman ruins are the Arch of Augustus, built in 8 BC to celebrate a peace treaty between the Gauls and the Romans, and parts of the adjacent Roman baths, the Roman amphitheatre and a Roman aqueduct. The 11th century Cathedral of San Giusto - is a roman style church which once formed part of an abbey complex and has interesting decorative features such as a campanile and some frescoes on the outside walls. Inside you can also see some notable artworks dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. Next we will visit to Forte di Exilles which has a multitude of mysterious stories surround it and one of the must-see fortresses in Europe. The first fortified building on the cliff on the right Bank of the river Dora is mentioned in documents in 1155, the year when the counts'albon controlled the road leading to Monginevro. This place already had a strategic military importance, and Exilles was the Eastern outskirts of the Ducal possessions. In 1339, the year on the rock stood a real defense system - it was a rare example of the so-called "roadside castle. In the second half of the 16th century the castle became a bone of contention between Catholics and reformers who wanted to control the province of Dauphine, in those years raspolagayutsya on both sides of the Alps. The most well-known story about fortress is at 1681 and 1687 when The Man in the Iron Mask was held prisoner here. The identity of this man remains unknown to this day. There are rumours of who he could have been: a brother of the Sun King (Louis XIV of France), an embarrassing illegitimate son of Queen Anne, or a well-known personality in the forefront of struggles between the nobility to occupy a position in the executive of Louis XIV. After we return to Turin.
Price: per person