Avigliana (
Piedmontese
Piedmontese (; autonym: or , in it, piemontese) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, northwestern region of Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly reg ...
: ''Vijan-a'' ;
French : ''Veillane'') is a town and ''
comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'' (municipality) in the
Metropolitan City of Turin in the
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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region or
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, with 12,480 inhabitants as of January 1, 2017. It lies about west of
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
in the
Susa valley, on the highway going from Turin to
Frejus, France.
It is best known for two
maar lakes, Lago Grande and Lago Piccolo. Also nearby is the massive
Sacra di San Michele
The Sacra di San Michele, sometimes known as Saint Michael's Abbey, is a religious complex on Mount Pirchiriano, situated on the south side of the Val di Susa in the territory of the municipality of Sant'Ambrogio di Torino, in the Metropolitan Ci ...
.
History
In 574, the Lombard King
Cleph
Cleph (also ''Clef'', ''Clepho'', or ''Kleph'') was king of the Lombards from 572 to 574.
He succeeded Alboin, to whom he was not related by blood. He was a violent and terrifying figure to the Romans and Byzantines struggling to maintain contro ...
built a castle here. According to some sources, the battle between the Franks of
Pippin the Younger
the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king.
The younger was the son of t ...
and the Lombards of
Aistulf
Aistulf (also Ahistulf, Aistulfus, Haistulfus, Astolf etc.; it, Astolfo; died December 756) was the Duke of Friuli from 744, King of the Lombards from 749, and Duke of Spoleto from 751. His reign was characterized by ruthless and ambitious ef ...
occurred in the nearby in 750. Later Avigliana depended from the
Abbey of Novalesa, and subsequently it was a possession of the
House of Savoy.
Avigliana was captured by
Emperor Henry VI
Henry VI (German: ''Heinrich VI.''; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany (King of the Romans) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was also King of Sic ...
in 1187, but later it was acquired by
Thomas I of Savoy
Thomas Ι (''Tommaso I''; c. 1178 – 1 March 1233) was Count of Savoy from 1189 to 1233. He is sometimes numbered "Thomas I" to distinguish him from his son of the same name. His long reign marked a decisive period in the history of Savoy.
Bi ...
. In 1536, in the course of the
Italian Wars
The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...
, it was again stormed by French troops. French attacks repeated in 1630 and 1690, the latter ending with the destruction of the castle.
Main sights
* Ruins of the castle, destroyed in the seventeenth century by the French.
* Church of ''San Giovanni'', with several works by
Defendente Ferrari
Defendente Ferrari (c. 1480/1485 – c. 1540) was an Italian painter active in Piedmont. His work marks the transition from late Gothic traditions to Renaissance art in the region.
Life and work
Ferrari was born at Chivasso, near Turin. ...
.
* The Romanesque church of ''San Pietro''.
* Natural Park of the Lakes of Avigliana.
Transportation
Avigliana has two gates on the A32 Bardonecchia-Turin motorway. It has also a station on the Turin-
Modane
Modane (; ) is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.
The commune is in the Maurienne Valley, and it also belongs to the Vanoise National Park. It was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia unti ...
railroad.
Twin towns
*
Tresserve, France
*
Oualia
Oualia is a small town and ''commune'' in the Cercle of Bafoulabé in the Kayes Region of south-western Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi ...
, Mali
*
Sevan, Armenia
References
External links
*
Official website
Castles in Italy
Maars of Italy
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