Vittorio Amedeo II's 1706 promise, to build a basilica to honour the Virgin Mary if Turin was saved from besieging French and Spanish armies, resulted in this wedding cake edifice, built on a hill across the Po river.
Architect Filippo Juvarra's Basilica di Superga became the final resting place of the Savoy family, whose lavish tombs make for interesting viewing, as does the dome. In 1949 the basilica gained less welcome renown when a plane carrying the entire Turin football team crashed into the church in thick fog, killing all on board. Their tomb rests at the rear of the church.
To get here take tram 15 from Piazza Vittorio Veneto to the Sassi–Superga stop on Corso Casale, then walk 20m to Stazione Sassi, from where an original 1934 tram rattles the 3.1km up the hillside in 18 minutes, every day except Wednesday.
