The Basilica di Superga is located somewhat outside the center of Turin. Members of the Royal House of Savoy are buried in this basilica, but it owes its greatest fame to the fact that in 1949 a plane carrying the entire Torino soccer team flew into a thick fog against the hill on which the church was built.
Superga Basilica Turin
Useful information
Address: Strada della Basilica di Superga, 73 – Torino (tel. +39 011 8997456). Funiculare: Superga. Bus: 79B. Opening hours March to October: Monday to Friday from 09.00 to 12.00 and from 15.00 to 18.00 (on Saturday and Sunday until 19.00). Opening hours November to February: Same in the morning, in the afternoon the basilica closes one hour earlier.
History and description
When French and Spanish troops attacked Turin in 1706, Vittorio Amedeo II swore that he would build a basilica in honor of the Virgin Mary if the city was spared. This happened and Filippo Juvarra was commissioned to build the church on a hill across the Po. In order to build the new basilica, Juvarra had to knock down an already existing church and lower the hill 40 meters.
In 1949 the Torino soccer team (not to be confused with the other, now much better known, club from Turin, Juventus) was the best team in Italy. On May 4 of that year, the entire team died when the plane in which they were traveling flew into the fog behind the monastery belonging to the church. There is a memorial stone behind the church.
What to see
The richly decorated tombs of the Savoy family.
The beautiful dome of the Superga Basilica was inspired by that of several domes of Roman churches designed by Borromini.
In the Cappella del Voto (“Chapel of the Oath”) is the wooden Madonna statue to which the king made his vow to build a new basilica if the city was spared.