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Municipality of Sestriere Sant'Antonino di Susa

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The Castle Billia The Castle Billia - Anna Gelmetti

The Castle Billia - Anna Gelmetti

Coat of arms Coat of arms

Coat of arms

Parish Church of Sa… Parish Church of Sant'Antonino di Susa - Edoardo Schiari

Parish Church of Sant'Antonino di Susa - Edoardo Schiari

Facade of the Paris… Facade of the Parish Church

Facade of the Parish Church

Parish church: inte… Parish church: internal detail

Parish church: internal detail

Parish: crucifixion Parish: crucifixion

Parish: crucifixion

Via Torino, 95, 10050 Sant'Antonino di Susa

S. Antonino is located on the right bank of the Dora river and its main nucleus developed around the Via Francigena. Mentioned in ancient documents as Sancta Agatae, the presence of the canons of S. Antonino della Valle Nobilense, who had structures for the hospitality of pilgrims and travelers, led to the new dedication of the parish.

The Romanesque basilica-style building is one of the oldest and most imposing in the Susa Valley: it featured extensive fresco decorations both internally and externally, of which fragments remain in the original apses: the Crucifixion (14th century). The current layout is the result of successive modifications and a 14-meter retreat from the original layout, which occurred in 1648. The Romanesque bell tower has been declared a national monument.

Its flat position also favored the development of agriculture through a systematic reclamation of some marshy areas. At the end of the 19th century, when the railway was built, the importance of also having a station led S. Antonino to rapid industrial development, with the Valle Susa cotton mills of Wild & Abbeg, and Magnadyne, a historic factory of radios and televisions. The industrial area develops beyond the railway, in an area far from the inhabited center, while modern residential areas have developed in those areas once dedicated to agriculture. The mountainous territory is characterized by numerous hamlets that develop along the wooded slope, among these the Cresto with the precious Chapel of S. Brigida (1717). The hamlet is the starting point for many paths that connect to the hamlets of Vaie and Villar Focchiardo, as well as hiking trails, such as the Path of the Franks. Notable in the San Pietro hamlet is the so-called Billia Castle, a summer residence of a family of notaries rooted in S. Antonino since the 17th century. The building is attributable to the eclectic and neo-Gothic style in vogue at the end of the 19th century.