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Basilica of Superga: View of the facade on the approach up the hill
Architecture Library, Hesburgh Libraries
Superga is a hill (672 m above sea level) situated on the south bank of the Po River to the east of Turin. Among Juvarra's first commissions in Turin was the church and monastery at Superga, a votive offering by the King Victor Amadeus II of Savoy that, although situated on a hill outside the city, was intended to be clearly visible from within it. Juvarra's solution, a central plan church with a dome raised on a tall drum, flanking towers and a square, tetrastyle temple portico emerging from a large monastery structure, made an imposing silhouette visible from as far as Rivoli, the royal villa west of Turin.