Art and History

Tower of the Hill (Torre del Colle)

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 08:33:40 GMT

The Tower of the Hill, or Torre del Colle (Tor do Còl in piedmontese) in Italian, is a Romanesque building located at the village of the same name in Villar Dora. The isolated tower dominates the "Colle della Seja" also known as "Molar del Ponte," an elongated relief that bars the valley north of the Dora, opposite the spur of Mount Pirchiriano with the Sacra di San Michele.

The Torre del Colle was elevated at the end of the 13th century, more precisely in 1289-1290, on the initiative of Amedeo V, who wanted to protect the new settlement of Molare del Ponte. A simple isolated tower, it is located next to the old pre-Roman and Roman road that, still passable, climbs the eastern slope of the hill, for some sections carved into the rock.

The circular cylindrical tower is approximately 19 meters high and 7 meters in diameter. It was made of masonry of local stone rough-hewn on site, bonded with exceptionally strong mortar packed with lime and river sand. At its base it housed a small enclosure that developed to the north.

Fort of Fenestrelle

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 10:18:12 GMT

The Fenestrelle Fort is the largest fortified structure in Europe and the most extensive masonry construction since the Great Wall of China. A stone giant that stretches about five kilometers into the Chisone Valley and covers an elevation difference of nearly 700 meters. The only one among Piedmont's 18th-century forts that still has its original architecture, it was designed by engineer Ignazio Bertola to protect the French-Italian border. It is located within the Orsiera-Rocciavré Regional Natural Park and has been the symbolic monument of the Province of Turin since 1999.

More than a fort, it can be considered a barrage. It is composed of several forts, (San Carlo, Tre Denti, Sant'Elmo and Valli), powder magazines, a medieval quarter that served as a fortress and a quarter for the troops, all connected by reduced and mighty gunboats and that admirable work that makes Fenestrelle Fort even more unique and impressive: the covered staircase of about 4,000 steps, carved into an artificial tunnel of almost two kilometers.

It is on the parade ground of Fort St. Charles that all the most representative buildings of the entire defense complex face each other: the governor's palace, the officers' pavilion, and the church; the long covered staircase that connects every part of the vast fortress also starts from the parade ground. Inside Fort St. Charles there are also three military quarters, the powder magazine of St. Ignatius, the risalits, the royal gate, and numerous other buildings used as depots, workshops, infirmary, and guardhouses. Absolutely not to be missed.

THE STORY

The Fenestrelle Fort project dates back to 1727 and was conceived by engineer Ignazio Bertola at the request of King Victor Amadeus II. The wondrous work would have been a barrage in the Chisone valley against foreign invasions. Construction began in 1728 below and continued for more than a century, closing in 1850, creating Europe's largest Alpine fortress. A military garrison and defensive bulwark, it was also a state prison.

Abandoned at the end of World War II since 1990, the fort has come back to life, becoming a cultural and tourist landmark in the area thanks to the efforts of volunteers from the San Carlo Onlus Project Association.

Fortress in numbers

3 km in length;
1,300,000 sq. m;
3 Forts, 7 Reductions, 28 Risings;
Covered Staircase: 4000 steps;
Royal Staircase: 2500 steps;
122 years of construction;
14 connecting bridges;
5 internal drawbridges;
183 beacons for illumination.

Fort of Exilles (Forte di Exilles)

Tue, 17 Jul 2018 18:00:00 GMT

The origins of the Exilles fort are still uncertain, but its existence is known as early as around 1155, when, within some chronicles, the castrum Exilliarum is mentioned. The fort, which already had a complex structure in 1339, was the defensive outpost first of the Dauphin d'Albon and, after 1350, of the Kingdom of France towards the Savoy dominions.

Conquered by the troops of Victor Amadeus II in 1708, the fort was first repaired and then substantially rethought in light of the 180-degree reversal of defensive logic imposed by the new state border. These works on the Savoy side (designs by Ignazio Bertola and Lorenzo Bernardino Pinto) were dismantled between 1796 and 1797.

The layout of the present building dates back to the Restoration period (plans by Giovanni Antonio Rana, from 1818, succeeded by Antonio Francesco Olivero and Agostino Verani), with a first substantial conclusion in the Carlo-Albertine era; further fortification phases are carried out after the passage of Savoy to France (1860) and in the 1870s-80s.

Definitively decommissioned after World War II, the fort was acquired by the Piedmont Region in 1978 and has been returned to public use and equipped with museum facilities since 2000.

Openings: June and September: Saturday and Sunday; July and August: Tuesday to Sunday (Aug. 14-15 open), Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Information: phone. 3276262304 - www.exillesilforte.it - assforteexilles@gmail.com

Sacra di San Michele

Wed, 11 Jul 2018 15:58:00 GMT

An iconic monument in Piedmont, the Abbey of San Michele della Chiusa was founded between 983 and 987; it was one of the most famous Benedictine abbeys in northern Italy and is among the largest architectural complexes of the Romanesque period in Europe, located along the path from Mont St. Michel to St. Michael of the Gargano. Its present imposing construction, begun around a small church dedicated to the archangel Michael, was built between the 11th and 14th centuries (Cover photo by Luca Martinacci).

The Sacra di San Michele has unique artistic and architectural elements, such as the zodiac portal and the staircase of the dead (12th cent.) and, outside, the monks' tomb, while the interior of the abbey church is embellished by Romanesque sculptures in the apse area and numerous frescoes from the 15th-16th cent.

The tour is enriched periodically by the special opening of the library, which was established from 1836, the year the Rosminian Fathers arrived on Mount Pirchiriano, and the old monastery, destroyed by Catinat's troops in the late 17th century. The library currently houses about 8,000 volumes, with texts from the 17th century onward, and is available for consultation upon request.

The Sacra di San Michele can be reached by car through the town of Avigliana, or by walking up via a mule track from Sant'Ambrogio.

Information: phone num. 011/939130. Web Sacra di San Michele

info@sacradisanmichele.com