Monastery · Italy · Restored

Sacra di San Michele

The Sacra di San Michele is a monumental abbey complex perched on the summit of Mount Pirchiriano above the Val di Susa in Piedmont, Italy. The site is a compact ensemble of a Romanesque–Gothic church, crypt, monastic buildings and defensive terraces built directly on a high rocky plinth and linked by stairways, loggias and retaining arches.

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Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

First raised

AD 901

Its prime

1255

Today

Restored

As it stood in 1255

What Sacra di San Michele looked like in its prime.

A massive stone abbey perched on a 26-metre rock plinth, its blocky Romanesque massing capped by polygonal apses and later Gothic windows. Grey and warm-buff ashlar, squared blocks and rusticated masonry, with a tall multi-stage facade hidden under the altar level; an imposing external stair (Scalone dei Morti) with arcades and niches climbs to the portal. Terraced retaining walls, arched ramparts and a freestanding tower (Torre della Bell'Alda) descend the mountainside; the ensemble commands sweeping views over the Val di Susa.

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11 places to explore in 1255.

The record describes 11 distinct spots at Sacra di San Michele, including 5 interiors: porta dello zodiaco (marble portal), church interior — nave and two aisles, crypt with byzantine-influenced niches and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more photos, more angles and more of the immersive experience.

Exterior approach / forecourt overlooking the valleyScalone dei Morti (Stairway of the Dead)Porta dello Zodiaco (marble portal)Church interior — nave and two aislesCrypt with Byzantine-influenced nichesOld Choir (vecchio coro) with triptychMonks' Sepulchre (octagonal chapel)Northern monastery ruins (five-storey range)Torre della Bell'Alda (tower)Loggia dei Viretti and apsidal exteriorSentiero dei Principi (Path of the Princes) with sarcophagi

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