Buttigliera Alta

Buttigliera Alta is a town and commune of approximately 6800 inhabitants located about 25 km from Turin in the Susa valley in Piedmont, Italy.

Geography

It is located very close to Avigliana, of which it once was a part.

History

It first became an independent township on 1619-04-26 when Carron Giovanni received the feud of Buttigliera, Uriola, and Case Nicola - as well as the title of Count - from the Duke Charles Emmanuel I.

From that point in time the history of Buttigliera was intimately tied with the history of the Carron family until the last of the Carrons, Carron Clementina, died in April 1912.

In the first half of 1890 Giuliano Vandel identified Buttigliera as the location for his new factory, which he built lower in the valley from the original Buttigliera. This new section, incorporated in 1891, was called Ferriera, after the town of La Ferriere Sous Jougne, from where Vandel originated.

In the 20th century, the FIAT group established one of its metallurgical factories in Ferriera, a section of Buttigliera.

Main sights

The Abbey of San Michele, which is Piemont's symbol and can be clearly seen from high points in Turin. It is located at the entrance to the Susa Valley.

Another site worthy of visiting is the preceptory of Sant'Antonio di Ranverso. The church in this religious complex goes back to 1121. The complex itself includes amongst other things a flour mill which the monks received on June 7, 1188, from Umberto III of Moriana Savoia. Along with the mill, he also granted a forest. Even before that, at this site there was also a hospital. Every year, a "Living Nativity Scene" is enacted here.