{"id":32976,"date":"2021-10-05T12:55:45","date_gmt":"2021-10-05T10:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bellitalie.org\/?post_type=destination&p=32976"},"modified":"2026-10-07T22:08:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T20:08:36","slug":"susa","status":"publish","type":"destination","link":"https:\/\/www.bellitalie.org\/en\/destination\/piedmont\/susa-valley\/susa\/","title":{"rendered":"Susa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Susa\"<\/a>Susa<\/strong> (Susa<\/i> in Italian) is a small town in the Val di Susa Valley, which from its long history preserves remains from antiquity and the Middle Ages, a time when it was one of the main centers of power in the region, and was shaped by trade and communications with the neighboring French regions. Today about 6,200 people live there (in 2019).<\/p>\n

Brief history and description<\/h2>\n

The territory of Susa was already inhabited before the Romans, by the Ligurians<\/strong>, then by the Celts<\/strong>. In the first century BCE, Donnus<\/strong>, a Celto-Ligurian king of the region, allied with Julius Caesar<\/strong>, opening for him and his legions a safe passage to Gaul.<\/p>\n

Later, the city named Segusium<\/em> by the Romans was annexed to the empire and developed by taking advantage of its position along one of the major axes linking Italy to Gaul, the Via Cozia<\/strong> (or Way of the Gauls), being the starting point of the Via Domitia<\/strong>, passing through the Mont Gen\u00e8vre pass.<\/p>\n

From that era, several ancient monuments and remains survive, such as the Arch of Augustus<\/strong> (8 BCE), an amphitheater, and the Savoie Gate<\/strong> which was modified in the Middle Ages. All around Piazza Savoia, the main square, numerous Roman remains were found.
Susa is mentioned in the 4th century by the Anonymous of Bordeaux as a stop on his pilgrimage route from Bordeaux to Jerusalem. Indeed, for centuries it was traveled by pilgrims following a variant of the Via Francigena, to Rome and beyond.
The cathedral, which dates back to the 11th century, was remodeled many times. It was originally a Benedictine abbey founded in the time of Ulric Manfred II<\/strong>, the Marquis of Susa and Turin. The latter’s daughter, Adelaide of Susa<\/strong>, married around 1045 in her third marriage Otto I of Savoy<\/strong>, linking her fief to the House of Savoy (hereditary family of the Humbertians<\/strong>, lords of the Maurienne valley).<\/p>\n

Monuments in Susa<\/h2>\n

Cathedral of Saint-Just of Susa<\/h3>\n

At the origin of the cathedral of San Giusto<\/strong> (Saint-Just of Susa<\/em> in French), was a Benedictine monastery<\/strong> founded in 1027. It was modified and completed several times, until the 19th century.
It is a Latin-cross building with three naves and a transept, whose facade is included in the wall of the Roman and medieval enclosure, adjacent to the Savoie Gate. The beautiful Romanesque bell tower reaches 51 meters in height. It was completed with Gothic elements in the 15th century.<\/p>\n\n\t\t