The Sacra di San Michele: Climbing the Stairway of the Dead Above the Val di Susa

A few kilometres from Turin, the Val di Susa is almost always crossed at speed: motorway, trains, queues heading toward the Alpine passes and the ski slopes. Almost no one lifts their gaze toward the rock that dominates the valley. And yet up there, on Monte Pirchiriano, above the village of Sant'Ambrogio di Torino, one of the oldest and most fascinating abbeys in northern Italy clings to the stone: the Sacra di San Michele.

History of the Abbey

The complex was founded between the end of the tenth and the beginning of the eleventh century and grew over the following centuries into one of the most celebrated Benedictine monasteries of the Alpine arc. It is dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel and since 1994 it has been the official monument-symbol of the Piedmont Region. Its silhouette clinging to the precipice has inspired the imagination of many stories: among them, it is often recalled as one of the inspirations behind Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose".

The Stairway of the Dead

The most intense moment of the visit is the climb. From the entrance you ascend the Stairway of the Dead, a steep staircase that takes its name from the niches carved along the walls, where the remains of monks once rested. The worn stone steps lead up to the Portale dello Zodiaco, a masterpiece of twelfth-century Romanesque sculpture, before opening into the abbey church perched over the void. From here your eye runs the length of the whole valley, all the way to the plain.

Compared to Piedmont's great destinations, the Sacra remains surprisingly quiet: you arrive after a short walk on foot or by car, and even on weekends you rarely find a crowd. For walkers, trails such as the Via Francigena and the paths from Sant'Ambrogio or from La Chiusa let you earn it step by step, leaving the car down in the valley.

When to Go

The best months are spring and early autumn, when the light is clear and the heat doesn't bite: always check the opening hours, which change with the season. Climb calmly, in silence. The Sacra isn't visited: it's conquered, step by step.

Related guides: Hidden Piedmont: villages off the beaten track between the Occitan valleys and Monferrato · Alternatives to Lake Como: the romantic and peaceful lakes of northern Italy · The All Saints' long weekend: villages, autumn foliage and thermal baths without the tourists.

How to Get There

The Sacra di San Michele dominates the lower Val di Susa and is reached by car from Turin via the A32 motorway toward Fréjus, taking the Avigliana exit and following the signs for the Sacra up to the Croce Nera car park, from which a few minutes on foot bring you to the abbey. By train, the nearest station is Sant'Ambrogio di Torino, from which a mule track climbs to the abbey in about an hour and a half. The reference airport is Turin-Caselle. On weekends, an alternating one-way system is in force on the access road.

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