Indications

Recommended for

• Families
• Barrier-free - joelette
• Everybody

Access

Park the car in the wide market area, just below the main square. Walk to the front of the church where the first itineraries (1-4) explanatory board is. As far as the last itineraries (5-7) are concerned, you may reach, if needed, the various hamlets by car.

Itinerary

The real surprise is found on Ala’s walls. Many sundials and several frescoes color houses and churches walls. The majority of the sundials belong to the nineteenth century, while some of the frescoes date back to the sixteenth century. Among the latter, some are ascribed to the painter, and traveler monk, Perini. He dated is religious paintings in the Lanzo Valleys from 1575 to 1588. Such concentration in Ala is partly still a mystery.  It is believed that, being the village on the Chambery/ Turin trade route through Col d’Arnas ever since the old age, the Sundials construction tradition was kept alive so as to relate outwardly and, in so doing continuously expanding and evolving.

In 2007 Ala Town Hall started a recovery project by which restoring old works and, at the same time, creating some new sundials such as the Destefanis, starting point of this trip back in time. To discover the treasures hidden in the village and nearby hamlets, seven itineraries have been prepared.

Bibliography

“Meridiane ed affreschi di Ala di Stura: alla scoperta del tempo antico”