From Turin to the Alps: Susa

 We discover this town, in the context of the valley of the same name, on our way from the Po Valley to France.



Susa, called the ‘Jewel of the Cottian Alps’, is a municipality in the province of Turin, located in the upper valley of the Dora Riparia and lies in the centre of the valley of the same name.

A short distance from the confluence of the two roads of Moncenisio and Monginevro, it has been of great strategic importance since ancient times due to its position, with the name of Segusium, being also the capital of the Kingdom of the Cozii, the starting point of the Via Domizia, the Via Cozia and a stop along the Itinerarium Burdigalense and the Via Francigena.

Moreover, it is not surprising that Susa was already flourishing in trade a few centuries before the Christian era, although it was only after the Roman conquest that it took on the connotations of a proper city, with a forum, thermal baths and a small amphitheatre, built in the 2nd century AD; the latter was discovered in 1961 to the south of the modern agglomeration, while all that remains of the forum is the Arch of Augustus from 9 BC, built in white marble, with a beautiful frieze sculpted in bas-relief.

This triumphal arch from the Augustan age, together with the remains of the aqueduct and amphitheatre, highlights the importance of Susa in the glorious era of the Roman Empire.

It was built on a rise by King Cottius in honour of the Emperor Octavian Augustus, in order to celebrate the Foedus, the alliance pact made by the sovereign with the emperor in 13 BC.

The Emperor Augustus himself, on his return from Gaul, stopped in the city to inaugurate the arch erected in his honour.

Today, it stands on the west side of Countess Adelaide's castle hill. This manor, built on the remains of the Roman Praetorium, is one of the oldest castles in the Susa Valley and houses the Civic Museum. Its name refers to Adelaide of Susa, holder of the jurisdictional powers of the March of Turin from 1034 to 1091.

In the 3rd century, the first barbarian incursions necessitated the construction of a wall around the town, including the Roman Porta Savoia, or Porta del Paradiso, which was one of Susa's main gates and became the town's symbol. It consists of two cylindrical towers and stands next to the cathedral of San Giusto, built in the 11th century and until 1581 attached to a Benedictine monastery.

Although repeated renovations have left almost nothing of the original Romanesque forms, the cathedral, flanked to its right by a bell tower with mullioned windows with two, three and four lights, retains some interesting features, such as the choir, which is an extraordinary example of 14th-century wood inlay. Valuable works of art are preserved in the sacristy and the chapter house, including a ‘Nativity’ by Defendente Ferrari, the polyptych of St Nicholas and a marble altar by Pietro da Lione.

To the north of the city, it dominates the rocky spur where Forte della Brunetta, considered one of the most important defensive systems in Piedmont, once stood. It was demolished at the end of the 18th century by order of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The baptismal parish church of Santa Maria Maggiore, in Romanesque style, consecrated before 1000, was an important centre of worship during the Middle Ages, later coming under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Prevostura of Oulx. The church was deconsecrated before the foundation of the diocese of Susa in 1772 and all its sacred furnishings were transferred to the cathedral of San Giusto. Although the complex is still recognisable with its bell tower close to the Roman walls, it has become the site of civil dwellings.

The convent of the Friars Minor of Susa, still very well preserved, is located outside the Roman walls. It was built in Romanesque style around 1230 and was inhabited by Franciscan friars until their suppression at the behest of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Susa was considered deserving of the Orange Flag, the prestigious recognition of tourist-environmental quality awarded by the Italian Touring Club.

(Photo of Susa (from comune.susa.to.it))

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