Monastero di Lanzo’s territory is on the western lush side of Val Tesso (825 m). This valley is often pushed in the background even if it is rich of religious – artistic and landscapes attractions.
The name should originate from a cloister built by Benedictine friars: they ran away from Novalesa Abbey in the Susa Valley due to the Saracen invasion. The monastery, intended for spiritual exercises, silence and contemplation, was built near the nuns’ one that the San Mauro in Pulcherada Abbey, landowner of the site, had already built. The last evidence of the friars’ presence dates back to the XIIth century when they built a Romanesque stone bell tower that is nowadays a National Monument. In the XXth century the “Lanzo” attribute was added to the name Monastero so as to avoid anonymousness. Many hamlets are present on this territory but the largest and best known is, for sure, Chiaves. The “Parco della Resistenza e della Pace”, built in memory of the liberation conflict, offers a breathtaking view of the surrounding valleys. This hamlet’s peculiarities are the “chintane”, narrow alleys that penetrate the old center of the village. The best known of them certainly is the “Pintura” which connects Chiaves with Cresto hamlet.
