An active Benedictine monastery and symbol of the Piedmont region, one of the three largest centres of veneration of the Archangel Michael in Europe. Described in the famous novel The Name of the Rose, Piedmont by Umberto Eco. The road from the picturesque shores of Lake Avigliana to an altitude of more than 950 metres above sea level and the walking route from the car park to the monastery step by step immerse you in the atmosphere of pilgrimage climbing and medieval mysticism.
In Umberto Eco’s iconic novel “The Name of the Rose” the action takes place in a medieval monastery “somewhere in northern Italy, in the foothills of the Alps”. The monastery stands lonely, on the very top of a steep mountain – and that determines the individual twists and turns of the plot. Few people know that this monastery – described in great detail – exists in reality. It is the Abbey of St Michael or, more precisely, the Sacra San Michele.
Western Europe, from north to east, is crossed by an invisible line connecting 3 structures dedicated to the Archangel Michael. The first is in northern France, the famous Mont St Michel. The third is in Puglia, on Mount Gargano. And finally, the one that was chosen by Eco as the setting and silent participant in the novel “The Name of the Rose” – Sacra di San Michele on Mount Pirquiriano.
In the days of the Roman Empire, this mountain was called Porquiriano (Pig) and, rising at the northern limits of the Roman possessions, was a powerful outpost to repel barbarian raids. In the tenth century, on the site of the dilapidated fortress, an abbey was founded, dedicated to the Archistratigus Michael, the chief commander of the heavenly forces. Dedication to him meant that the abbey was not only a centre of spiritual life, but also a stronghold of the host.
Sacra di San Michele, sometimes called the Abbey of San Michele, is a religious complex built on the mountain of Monte Pirchiriano at the entrance to the Val di Susa valley. The complex is located in the commune of Sant’Ambrogio di Torino and belongs to the diocese of Susa. For many years Sacra di San Michele, which stands majestically above the villages of Avigliana and Chiusa di San Michele, has been considered the symbol of the Italian region of Piedmont.
After another 300 years Sacra di San Michele fell into the hands of the richest monastic order of the Middle Ages, the Benedictines, whose activity is associated with the highest prosperity of the abbey described in Eco’s novel.
Then there were religious wars and fires that ravaged the abbey – and this, too, finds a place in The Name of the Rose, where the Low Gate of Humility leads to the Stairway of the Dead, carved directly into the rock, in the niches of which the remains of monks once rested, going straight out to the temple portal – the Zodiac Gate, one of the most amazing structures of Romanesque architecture. Equally striking is the majestic and austere interior of the basilica, where the 13th-century frescoes, the very ones so inspired by Eco’s description, have been preserved (and surprisingly well).
All days except 24-25 December, 1 January, 1 May.
All days except 24-25 December, 1 January, 1 May.
