Abbey of Novalesa
The Abbey of Novalesa, dedicated to Saints Peter and Andrew, stands in Novalesa, in the Susa Valley, on the road to Moncenisio; it was founded on 30 January 726 and has belonged since 1972 to the Province, today the Città metropolitana di Torino, with a Benedictine community.[1][2]
The Middle Ages
It was founded by Abbo, a high official of the Frankish kingdom and rector of Susa and Maurienne, who in 739 left it his possessions; the abbey reached its greatest splendour in the Carolingian age, under Abbot Eldrado (820-845).[3][1] Because of Saracen raids, the monks fled to Turin and to Breme at the start of the 10th century, in 904 according to the Chronicon Novaliciense, in 906 according to the abbey.[3][1] In the 11th century it was repopulated by monks from Breme, with major works carried out under abbots Adraldo and Guglielmo.[3] Of the four isolated chapels, San Michele and Sant'Eldrado preserve Carolingian structures, and the 11th- and 12th-century frescoes are the work of a single Lombard workshop.[3]
From the modern age to today
From 1646 to 1798 the abbey was home to Cistercian monks, in 1821 the Benedictines returned, and on 29 May 1855 the suppression laws closed the monastery, which was sold at auction and turned into a hydrotherapy hotel; it later became the summer residence of the Convitto Nazionale Umberto I of Turin.[1][2] In 1972 the Province bought the complex, by then in ruins, and in July 1973 a Benedictine community from Venice settled there.[2][1] Archaeological excavations took place from 1978 to 1991, and the archaeological museum was inaugurated on 22 March 2009.[3][2]
The 1300th anniversary
On 30 January 2026 the abbey's 1300th anniversary was celebrated, in the presence of the Archbishop of Turin Roberto Repole and the metropolitan mayor Stefano Lo Russo; the celebrations are due to close on 15 October 2026.[4]