Superga

Brief information

Superga grew out of a vow made in a small church on the hill during the siege of Turin in 1706. After the victory, a large church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was built on this site. So the view of the building should be read not only as a Baroque panorama above the city, but also as a memorial marker placed exactly where the oath was sworn.

The basilica stands on the top of Superga hill, at an altitude of 672 meters northeast of Turin. The church was also conceived as a mausoleum for the House of Savoy, so its position is important: it forms the visual apex of a triangle with the dynasty’s main residences. From here it becomes clearer why the church is visible from afar and why its dome functions as a sign of power on the horizon.

What to notice right away

It is worth comparing the three parts of the building: the round center, the portico, and the side towers. The main volume is arranged as a rotunda and recalls the Pantheon, but the dome refers to St. Peter’s Basilica. In front of it stands an almost classical portico with eight Corinthian columns, while two bell towers rise on either side. Different Roman models are combined in a single facade, and because of this the church looks not like a simple mountain chapel, but like a carefully conceived architectural quotation.

The plan also helps explain the purpose of the place. The monastery adjoins the church on three sides and forms a large rectangular courtyard: buildings for religious life and reception were added directly to the church. Inside, the space spreads out from the dome in the form of a Greek cross: six chapels and four altars surround the center. A special point is the “Chapel of the Vow,” with a 17th-century wooden statue of the Madonna delle Grazie, the very one before which the vow was made.