A Jacobite Gazetteer - Turin

This church contains the tombs of many members of the House of Savoy, including King Victor, his wife, Queen Maria Theresa, and their eldest daughter, Princess Marie Adelaide of Savoy.

Basilica di Superga

The tombs are in the crypt of the church. On the right wall of the central nave of the crypt is the monument to King Victor set into a semi-circular niche. The monument is made of panels of green marble and red porphyry decorated with gold capitals. In the middle is a Latin inscription in gold letters on white marble. Above the inscription is a pediment decorated with a relief showing armour, flags, and other military motifs. Above the pediment is a small white marble urn on top of which rests a gold crown with a sceptre and marshall's baton. The Latin inscription reads:

Set at the foot of the monument to King Victor is the tomb of his wife Queen Maria Theresa, a white marble urn with a crown on top. On the front of the urn between two Ionic pilasters is a Latin inscription:

Tombs of King Victor and Queen Maria Theresa

Immediately to the left of the tombs of King Victor and Queen Maria Theresa is a monument to King Charles IV (whose tomb is in the Chiesa di Sant' Andrea al Quirinale in Rome). It consists of a white marble panel set in a gold and black frame. Above a Latin inscription is a crown with a sceptre and sword, all set amidst thorn branches. The monument was erected sometime between 1878 and 1900 by King Umberto I of Italy; the Latin inscription reads:

Also buried in the central nave are the parents of King Charles IV and King Victor - King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and Queen Maria Antonia Ferdinanda - as well as their younger brother, King Charles Felix of Sardinia.

In the left transept of the crypt is the tomb of the eldest daughter of King Victor, Princess Marie Adelaide of Savoy (1794-1795). It bears the following Latin inscription:¹

Also buried in the left transept are four siblings of King Charles IV and King Victor - Amedeo, Duke of Montferrat; Princess Maria Cristina of Savoy; Princess Maria Elisabetta of Savoy; and Maria Anna, Duchess of Chablais - as well as their great-granparents - King Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia and his wife Marie Anne d'Orléans (grand-daughter of King Charles I).²

In the right transept are buried the grandparents of King Charles IV and King Victor - King Charles Emaneul III of Sardinia and his wife Polyxena Christina of Hesse-Rotenburg-Rheinfels.³

Twenty minute guided tours of the royal tombs take place from late March to late September, from 9.30 a.m. to 12.15 p.m. and from 2.30 p.m. to 6.15 p.m.; late September to late March, from 10.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon and from 3.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. Closed Fridays, January 1, Easter, June 16 to 30, September 8, and Christmas.

The basilica is located in the Parco Naturale di Superga in the hills to the north-east of the city centre. Take tram 15 to Stazione Sassi, and then bus 79 to Piazza Basilica di Superga.

This page is maintained by Noel S. McFerran (noel.mcferran@rogers.com) and was last updated August 2, 2010.
© Noel S. McFerran 2003-2010.