Photos

Lakes of Avigliana (the "Great" & the "Little"), a view from the ruins of the castle. A very large number of red roofs; I remarked this thing also in other images of Avigliana, but I ignore the reason.

Avigliana is a town and municipality in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, with 11,000 inhabitants, located about 25 km west of Turin. Avigliana lies in the Susa valley, on the highway connecting Turin to Frejus (France).

It is best known for two maar lakes, Lago Grande and Lago Piccolo. In the nearby is also the massive Sacra di San Michele.

In 574 the Lombard King Cleph built a castle here. According to some sources, the battle between the Franks of Pippin the Younger and the Lombards of Aistulf occurred in the nearby in 750. Later Avigliana depended from the Abbey of Novalesa. Later it was a possession of the House of Savoy.

Avigliana was captured by Emperor Henry VI in 1187, but later it was acquired by Thomas I of Savoy. In 1536, in the course of the Italian Wars, it was again stormed by French troops. French attacks repeated in 1630 and 1690, the latter with the destruction of the castle.