BASILICA DI SUPERGA
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Splendid building built on a hill in 1731, necropolis of the family of Savoy, and which offers an impregnable view on Turin.
Designed by Filippo Juvarra (1731), the basilica is located on a 670 m high hill, from where there is a breathtaking view of the city and the Alps (on a clear day you can even see the Matterhorn, Monte Rosa and Gran Paradiso). The basilica was founded following a vow made by Victor-Amédée II during the French siege of Turin in 1706. Rousseau, who visited it, was struck by its beauty, which was fully justified, as its pronaos with 8 columns surmounted by a 65 m dome and its two lateral bell towers are a true architectural feat.
Inside the complex, a crypt houses the tombs of the House of Savoy, from that of its founder to Charles-Albert. The apartments, which unfold around a harmonious cloister, were used for short stays by members of the royal house. Since its foundation, the building has been home to the Congregation of the Servants of Mary, who maintain and visit it. The best way to reach the Basilica is by cogwheel railway (tranvia a dentiera) which, since 1934, has been climbing the 3 km hill to the top of the hill, otherwise it takes two hours on foot. Since 2012, the mythical Milan-Turin cycle race (which dates back to 1876) ends here, at the top of the hill. Finally, just behind the building, a memorial dedicated to the "Superga drama" is dedicated to the players of the Torino football team who died in 1949 when their plane, returning from Lisbon, crashed on the hill near the basilica.
La basilique est superbe, tout comme la vue sur Turin et les Alpes
La vue que l’on a sur la ville et les Alpes est ceci dit magnifique à condition d’y aller lorsqu’il n’y a ni nuages, ni brumes de chaleur.
On y accède par un funiculaire, en voiture ou bien à pieds mais cette dernière solution est assez longue et fatigante. Au retour, pour ceux qui sont en voiture, au lieu de redescendre directement sur Turin, ils peuvent prendre la direction de la colline de Pino Torinese où l’on trouve des sentiers de randonnée dans les bois et des aires aménagées de pique-nique. Ceci est fort agréable en été lorsqu’il fait très chaud à Turin.