Filippo Juvarra built the Basilica di Superga (1717-31) on a 672m hilltop overlooking Turin — King Vittorio Amedeo II vowed to build it if he won the Battle of Turin (1706). He won. Juvarra created a Baroque masterpiece: a circular church with a neoclassical portico and a 75m dome visible from every point in the city. The Royal Crypts contain the Savoy dynasty tombs (the family that unified Italy). Behind the basilica: the memorial to the Grande Torino — the legendary football team whose plane crashed into the hillside on May 4, 1949, killing all 31 aboard. The panorama from the terrace: Turin, the Po valley, the entire arc of the Alps from Monviso to Monte Rosa.
The basilica: Circular nave, Juvarra's dome, light flooding from above. Free entry. Royal Crypts (€5): 60+ Savoy family tombs spanning 5 centuries — kings, queens, princes in marble sarcophagi. Grande Torino memorial: Behind the apse — a stone wall marking where the Fiat G.212 crashed in fog. 31 names. Flowers always present. Torino football fans treat this as a pilgrimage. The panorama: On clear days (autumn/winter best), the Alps form a 180° wall of snow-capped peaks. The most spectacular viewpoint in Piedmont.
Practical: Strada Basilica di Superga 73. Church free. Crypts €5. Dome climb €5. Cremagliera (rack railway): From Sassi station (€9 return, 20 min) — scenic mountain railway. OR drive (20 min from centro). Open daily (check for seasonal closures). Duration: 1h. Combine: Superga + Museo Egizio (afternoon in town).