Tourism has been my passion and my profession since 1990. I began in La Plata, Argentina, at Euromar Turismo, the agency owned by my beloved father, Orazio Filippo Greco, before continuing in Italy with Andina Viaggi. Merlintravel grows from that experience and the desire to keep exploring and sharing the world. The journey continues…
Let’s see where it takes us.
Tourism has been my passion and my profession since 1990. I began in La Plata, Argentina, at Euromar Turismo, the agency owned by my beloved father, Orazio Filippo Greco, before continuing in Italy with Andina Viaggi. Merlintravel grows from that experience and the desire to keep exploring and sharing the world. The journey continues…
Let’s see where it takes us.
Piedmont Guide 08 · Roman pass town, abbeys, border forts, Waldensian history, rail engineering and winter-sport landscapes
A multi-day Alpine guide from Roman Susa through the Sacra di San Michele, Novalesa and Exilles to the pass routes, then south through Pinerolo, Fenestrelle, the Waldensian valleys and Olympic infrastructure around Bardonecchia and Sestriere.
Plan the routeWhy this route must be read in layers
Val di Susa contains Roman monuments, medieval abbeys and modern transport along the same narrow axis. Each layer used the valley differently and cannot be collapsed into a single pilgrimage road.
Exilles and Fenestrelle belong to changing frontier systems. Restoration and guided routes expose only part of structures designed for military control, not scenic ruin.
The Waldensian valleys preserve religious dissent, persecution, return and modern institutions. Olympic venues added another infrastructure layer whose maintenance and environmental effects continue after 2006.
Use rail where practical, assign separate days to the Susa and Pinerolo systems, and treat every high fort, pass and trail as conditional on official opening, weather and transport.
The route
Begin in Susa and its valley monuments, visit the Sacra and forts only through official access, then transfer to Pinerolo for a separate route through Fenestrelle, Waldensian and Olympic landscapes.
Move in the documented order: Roman Susa: arch, gate and Alpine administration; then Susa Cathedral and medieval centre: worship beside the Roman gate; then Sacra di San Michele: monastery on the valley threshold. Recheck live access and transport before entering a controlled site.
Move in the documented order: Novalesa Abbey: monastic route and painted chapels; then Exilles Fort: frontier architecture above the Dora; then Frejus railway and pass infrastructure: engineering an international corridor. Recheck live access and transport before entering a controlled site.
Move in the documented order: Pinerolo: fortress memory, cavalry city and valley market; then Fenestrelle Fort: a fortified mountain system, not one wall; then Waldensian valleys: religious dissent, persecution and return. Recheck live access and transport before entering a controlled site.
Move in the documented order: Bardonecchia, Sestriere and the Olympic valleys: sport infrastructure after 2006. Recheck live access and transport before entering a controlled site.
Ten chapters
The order follows terrain, institutions and present-day movement. Use the index to return to a chapter without reducing the route to isolated monuments.
The Arch of Augustus, city gate and archaeological remains mark a settlement positioned to negotiate routes through the Cottian Alps.
The Arch of Augustus, city gate and archaeological remains mark a settlement positioned to negotiate routes through the Cottian Alps. The site becomes clearer when its surviving fabric, later alterations and present use are read together.
Archaeological access may be limited to protected viewpoints, scheduled openings or guided routes. Stay outside barriers, distinguish original material from supports and reconstruction, and verify the official opening notice.
Segusium developed through an alliance between Rome and the local ruler Cottius before incorporation into imperial administration and long continuity as a valley centre.
Begin with arch inscriptions and reliefs. Then compare gate and street relationship with later town built around roman remains; the differences are evidence, not visual noise.
San Giusto, bell tower, cloister traces and narrow streets reuse the strategic centre after the Roman period.
San Giusto, bell tower, cloister traces and narrow streets reuse the strategic centre after the Roman period. The site becomes clearer when its surviving fabric, later alterations and present use are read together.
This is an active religious place as well as a historic building. Services, ceremonies and conservation can interrupt tourist access; dress appropriately, remain quiet and never treat a booked visit as priority over worship.
The cathedral grew from an eleventh-century monastic foundation and became the seat of the modern diocese, accumulating later art and restoration.
Begin with church against porta savoia. Then compare romanesque masonry and later chapels with active worship within the tourist route; the differences are evidence, not visual noise.
A steep stair, rock foundations and Romanesque church occupy Monte Pirchiriano above the route between plain and Alps.
A steep stair, rock foundations and Romanesque church occupy Monte Pirchiriano above the route between plain and Alps. The site becomes clearer when its surviving fabric, later alterations and present use are read together.
This is an active religious place as well as a historic building. Services, ceremonies and conservation can interrupt tourist access; dress appropriately, remain quiet and never treat a booked visit as priority over worship.
The monastic complex developed around the turn of the first millennium and expanded through medieval patronage before decline, restoration and Rosminian custody.
Begin with building joined directly to rock. Then compare stairway of the dead and portal with valley routes visible from controlled terraces; the differences are evidence, not visual noise.
Church, cloister and freestanding chapels sit within a managed Alpine valley landscape near the Mont Cenis route.
Church, cloister and freestanding chapels sit within a managed Alpine valley landscape near the Mont Cenis route. The site becomes clearer when its surviving fabric, later alterations and present use are read together.
This is an active religious place as well as a historic building. Services, ceremonies and conservation can interrupt tourist access; dress appropriately, remain quiet and never treat a booked visit as priority over worship.
Founded in 726, the abbey became an important Carolingian institution, suffered abandonment and return, and preserves medieval frescoes under controlled conditions.
Begin with relationship among abbey and chapels. Then compare paint layers and conservation with fields, water and mountain routes around the enclosure; the differences are evidence, not visual noise.
Walls, ramps and batteries rise from a constricted valley position controlling the route toward the upper passes.
Walls, ramps and batteries rise from a constricted valley position controlling the route toward the upper passes. The site becomes clearer when its surviving fabric, later alterations and present use are read together.
Opening, ticketing, room access and temporary displays can change. Check the institution’s official notice shortly before visiting, use the designated entrance and allow for security or conservation controls.
Fortifications changed hands and form between Dauphiné, France and Savoy; the present mass reflects major early-modern and nineteenth-century rebuilding.
Begin with defensive levels adapted to rock. Then compare road and river controlled below with restored visitor route versus closed military spaces; the differences are evidence, not visual noise.
Tunnels, stations, viaducts and protection works make the valley a working transalpine transport system.
Tunnels, stations, viaducts and protection works make the valley a working transalpine transport system. The site becomes clearer when its surviving fabric, later alterations and present use are read together.
Timetables, engineering works, capacity and accessibility arrangements can change. Check the operator on the day, leave a realistic connection margin and never enter tracks, depots or restricted infrastructure.
The railway tunnel opened in the nineteenth century and was joined by later road infrastructure, repeatedly altered by war, safety standards and Alpine hazards.
Begin with station and tunnel approaches from public space. Then compare slope protection and service structures with freight and passenger movement distinguished; the differences are evidence, not visual noise.
Historic streets, cathedral, civic museums and former military institutions occupy a city at the opening of several western valleys.
Historic streets, cathedral, civic museums and former military institutions occupy a city at the opening of several western valleys. The site becomes clearer when its surviving fabric, later alterations and present use are read together.
The area is inhabited and worked, not staged for visitors. Keep doorways, pavements, cycle lanes and deliveries clear, ask before photographing people and use current municipal mobility information.
Pinerolo moved between Savoy and French control and was heavily fortified before demolition; later military schools, rail and industry gave it new regional roles.
Begin with street levels indicating lost defences. Then compare religious and civic centre with former military buildings in later use; the differences are evidence, not visual noise.
Roads, redoubts, covered stair and batteries extend across a steep slope at exceptional scale.
Roads, redoubts, covered stair and batteries extend across a steep slope at exceptional scale. The site becomes clearer when its surviving fabric, later alterations and present use are read together.
Opening, ticketing, room access and temporary displays can change. Check the institution’s official notice shortly before visiting, use the designated entrance and allow for security or conservation controls.
Savoy engineers developed the complex from the eighteenth century to control Val Chisone; later military and prison uses created layered and sometimes contested memory.
Begin with forts distributed by elevation. Then compare covered stair and supply routes with guided safety limits across unstable mountain terrain; the differences are evidence, not visual noise.
Museums, temples, schools, memorials and mountain routes document a living Protestant community rather than a folkloric enclave.
Museums, temples, schools, memorials and mountain routes document a living Protestant community rather than a folkloric enclave. The site becomes clearer when its surviving fabric, later alterations and present use are read together.
The area is inhabited and worked, not staged for visitors. Keep doorways, pavements, cycle lanes and deliveries clear, ask before photographing people and use current municipal mobility information.
Waldensian communities survived centuries of restriction, violence, exile and the 1689 Glorious Return before civil emancipation in 1848 and modern institutional development.
Begin with documented sites and archival testimony. Then compare temples distinguished from catholic churches with living worship and community use respected; the differences are evidence, not visual noise.
Ski lifts, slopes, roads, lodging and reused venues overlay older settlements, military routes and fragile high landscapes.
Ski lifts, slopes, roads, lodging and reused venues overlay older settlements, military routes and fragile high landscapes. The site becomes clearer when its surviving fabric, later alterations and present use are read together.
Weather, water levels, trail conditions and seasonal services can alter the route. Use official transport and park information, remain on authorised paths and do not enter farms, vineyards or private gardens without permission.
Winter tourism grew before Turin hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics, which accelerated venue and transport investment; climate change now affects snow, operations and long-term use.
Begin with historic village fabric versus resort planning. Then compare lifts and snow-management systems with current closures and conditions checked before access; the differences are evidence, not visual noise.
Piedmont through time
From pre-Roman routes and Roman towns to communes, marquisates, Savoy government, industrialisation, heritage protection and climate-sensitive access.
Alpine, lake, hill and plain communities leave settlements, tools, rock art and long-lived route systems.
Ligurians, Celts, Salassi and other communities organise territories later drawn into Roman expansion.
Roman colonies, municipia and roads connect the Po plain to Alpine passes and Ligurian approaches.
Cities, farms, river transport and mountain routes integrate the region into imperial networks.
Christian institutions, Lombard and Frankish powers, monasteries and fortified sites reshape late-Roman territories.
Communes, bishoprics and marquisates develop distinct cities, markets, castles and religious landscapes.
Savoy, Monferrato, Saluzzo, Milanese and local powers contest routes while towns expand civic institutions.
The transfer of the Savoy capital to Turin accelerates centralisation, court construction and territorial administration.
Baroque residences, sanctuaries, planned roads and fortified frontiers reorganise cities and countryside.
French and Napoleonic rule suppresses institutions, reforms government and changes military and transport systems.
Constitutional politics and wars led from Piedmont-Sardinia contribute decisively to Italian unification.
Railways, canals, factories, wine markets and Alpine tourism connect previously separated economies.
World wars, Fascism, resistance and civilian loss leave difficult evidence across towns, hills and valleys.
Industrial expansion, migration, mechanised agriculture and mass tourism transform cities and working landscapes.
Deindustrialisation, heritage recognition, rural reinvestment and climate pressure repeatedly alter access and identity.
Before your visit
Opening hours, reservation systems, restoration, exhibitions and transport can change. Recheck the linked official institution shortly before departure.
Churches and sanctuaries remain religious spaces. Services, funerals and community use take priority over visitor itineraries.
Val di Susa, Pinerolo and the Olympic valleys · Piedmont combines dense urban routes with lakes, valleys and dispersed towns. Do not compress distant chapters into an unsafe or superficial day.
Arcades, station halls, markets, courtyards, workshops and residential streets must continue to function while you observe or photograph them.
Check the responsible rail, navigation, bus, road or park operator on the day; replacement services and weather can change an otherwise sound route.
Restoration, reconstruction, adaptive reuse and new development have all shaped the landscape visible today.
Method and sources
This guide uses official museum, ministry, municipal, transport, park and UNESCO documentation checked on 29 August 2026. It separates durable historical interpretation from access details that can change, distinguishes surviving fabric from restoration or reconstruction, and treats worship, work, residence and public movement as part of the evidence. Every chapter links its principal institutional source; tickets, closures, weather and transport must always be verified again on the day of the visit.
All ten images are original Merlintravel editorial watercolours based on documented present-day conditions. They are illustrations, not substitutes for archaeological plans. Opening hours, tickets, accessible routes, temporary exhibitions and conservation work can change; consult the linked official pages shortly before visiting.
