Sestriere emblem of the Turin Alps, renowned health, holiday and ski resort of Piedmont located in the beautiful Susa Valley just 17.5 kilometers from the French border known for being with its 2,0350 meters of altitude making it the highest municipality in Italy.
This town owes its creation and consecration in the Olympus of elite destinations to the influential and charismatic Agnelli family, illustrious patrons of the automotive world linked to the Fiat Group, to sport with the management of a prestigious club such as FC Juventus and other industrial activities.
The founder of the notorious Turin-based car manufacturer, Giovanni Agnelli, decided in the 1930s to build a sort of tourist empire at the foot of the emblematic Col di Sestriere, the protagonist of historic stages with its climbs to the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.
The positive feedback from year to year, receiving a high demand for stays, was the beginning to start competing with very famous destinations in France, Switzerland and Austria, especially in the winter season, thanks to the development of hotels and ski slopes.
Consequent infrastructures designed and engineered by authentic experts elevated the resort which became the second ski destination in Piedmont only behind Bardonecchia.
Once you arrive at your destination, you can start your visit from the oldest monument in the municipality of Sestriere, corresponding to the Church of Sant'Antonio Abate, built in the nineteenth century in a village developed in the 30s and erected on a previous religious structure built in the thirteenth century, while maintaining part of its architectural heritage, such as a pulpit of the 1700s and some Seventeenth-century sacred objects.
Continue with the Church of Sant' Edoardo dedicated to the Saint who is also the patron saint of Sestriere. T
This religious temple was erected after the project of the architect Bottino to commemorate the death of one of the sons of Giovanni Alberto Agnelli Senior, Edoardo who died in a tragic accident and named in his honor.
The construction is a sort of revival of a medieval building in a modern key with neromanesque lines developed with a portico, a central nave, side aisles, four replicas of columns from the Middle Ages with capitals supporting wide arches.
In the upper part of the pentagonal stone façade was placed a statue depicting the patron saint.
One of the great attractions is certainly a bronze portal with a depiction of the seven sons of Giovanni Alberto Agnelli by the Carrara sculptor Arturo Dazzi.
Inside you can see some modern works such as a Via Crucis in gilded bronze made by the Sicilian sculptor Francesco Messina, a red porphyry statue depicting St. Edward as well as a crucifix and a statue of the Virgin of Sorrows, works attributed to the Turin artist Edoardo Rubino.
The Chapel of the Regina Pacis, completed in 1924 after two years of work, consists of a sanctuary dedicated to the victims of the First World War, honoring the people who tragically died during this war event in all the neighboring valleys.
Continuation with the view of a replica made in 1987 of an obelisk originally erected in the nineteenth century to commemorate the construction of the road connecting the French region of Haute-Savoie to the Italian region of Piedmont.
This work was begun under the orders of Napoleon Bonaporte who wanted to establish an easier access to reach Turin and the Po Valley by crossing the Cottian Alps from France.
You can then linger in front of the two hotels that were later called The Towers for their appearance similar to that of that type of construction developed in typical rationalist style with internal helical ramps.
Some people harshly criticized because two such modern and tall buildings were not at all in perfect harmony with the local environment, on the contrary they disfigured it, although they were built in a period when the new avant-garde architecture, the result of those rationalist movements, had produced a new generation of emerging architects in Italy.
Despite severe criticism, the work continued, the hotels proved to be functional and subsequently the first ski-lift complex was also built, consisting of three funiculars directly connected to three different mountains surrounding Sestriere.
Time for your lunch, I recommend to stay in the traditional among the first courses Piedmontese Agnolotti or Truffle Risotto with Asparagus, among the second courses Glara or Mutton Stew.
After lunch, in a pleasant walk you can contemplate the magnificent mountain crown that surrounds this municipality with the beautiful views of the Col di Sestriere, Monte Sises, Monte Fraiteve, Monte Motta and Punta Rognosa, an absolutely spectacular alpine setting.
Visiting Sestriere is a splendid tourism experience, immersing yourself in a highly fascinating environment that always leaves happy memories of the unique images of the Piedmontese Alps.
Link : https://www.sestriere.it/
Where to Stay | Recommended Accomodation
Hotel Tana della Volpe
Hotel Gran Roc
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