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Basilica of Superga

The Basilica of Superga, also known as the Real Basilica of Superga, stands on the homonymous hill to the north-east of Turin.

It was built by King Vittorio Amedeo II as a thanksgiving to the Virgin Mary, after defeating the French.

For this reason it is considered a "celebratory monument".

It seems that the name of Superga has distant Lombard origins and that it comes from a woman named "Saroperga", owner of the woods on the site.

Another supposition is a name of Germanic origin: Serrapergia; however they are part of the many hypotheses, because they are not supported by reliable historical sources.

The project is by the Messina architect, Abbot Filippo Juvarra, and dates back to 1715. The chapel, located at the top of the homonymous hill, can be reached by road or using the Sassi-Superga tramway.

The history of the basilica dates back to 2 September 1706, when the Duke of Savoy, Vittorio Amedeo II, and the prince of Carignano, Eugenio di Savoia, climbed the hill to observe Turin besieged by the Franco-Spanish.

Vittorio Amedeo, kneeling in front of an old pylon, swore that, in case of victory, he would build a monument to the Madonna.

And so it happened: from dawn until the early afternoon of 7 September the French and Piedmontese armies clashed in the fields near Lucento and Madonna di Campagna and victory went to the Piedmontese.

The entrance of the basilica with the sumptuous pronaos supported by eight imposing Corinthian columns Thanks to the victory in the battle, even before the end of the ongoing war against Louis XIV (War of the Spanish Succession), Vittorio Amedeo was crowned king of Sicily and dissolved the vote entrusting the design of the building to the Sicilian Filippo Juvarra (1711).

Map: Basilica of Superga