Sacra di San Michele

The Sacra di San Michele, or more properly abbey of San Michele della Chiusa, also locally called Sagra di San Michele, is an architectural complex perched on the summit of Mount Pirchiriano, at the mouth of the Susa Valley, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, in the territories of the municipalities of Sant'Ambrogio di Torino and Chiusa di San Michele, just above the hamlet of San Pietro.

Placed on an imposing 26-meter base at an altitude of 960 meters above sea level, overlooking from the top of Mount Pirchiriano on the border between the Cottian Alps and the Po Valley, it is the symbolic monument of Piedmont and one of the most eminent religious architectures of this Alpine territory, belonging to the diocese of Susa, the first stop on Italian territory of the Via Francigena.

From the 12th to the 15th century it experienced the period of its greatest historical splendor, becoming one of the main centers of Benedictine spirituality in Italy. In the 19th century, the congregation of Rosminian fathers was established there. In 2015, the site was one of the winners of the worldwide Wiki Loves Monuments photo contest. In 2016, the museum of the monumental abbey complex was visited by more than 100,000 people.

On the night of January 24, 2018, the Old Monastery of the Sacra suffered extensive damage after a fire broke out on the roof, without impacting the most architecturally significant part, which is in need of major restoration. The monastic setting largely inspired Umberto Eco's historical novel The Name of the Rose.

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