Carlo Magno e le Alpi. Viaggio al centro del Medioevo

The history and legend of Charlemagne, the first great European emperor, had one of its most fundamental moments precisely in Val di Susa; this is a fascinating journey towards the discovery of his times and the key figures involved.

The Valle di Susa has always been a natural link between Italy and Europe. Precisely for this reason it has, over the centuries, witnessed the passage of popes, emperors, armies, pilgrims and merchants and has become the repository of art treasures of international importance set in this evocative natural environment.
On the pathways and passes of the valley a great part of European history has been enacted. From Hannibal, who, according to the legend, crossed the Alps in 218 B.C. to Julius Caesar in 58 B.C. and in particular, Charlemagne, who, in 773 A.D., camping with his army at the Abbey of Novalesa, won the battle Chiuse against the Longobard king Desiderius; the territory then saw the arrival of the house of Savoy, for centuries they held Susa and the valley as an important outpost in the consolidation of their powers beyond the alps, or Napoleon, who understood the important strategic role of Moncenisio in connecting Italy with the rest of Europe building a carriage road that is still in use today.

The emperor Charlemagne's history is closely linked to the Alps. He built his empire travelling through the mountains producing the art, music and literature which has been left to us in heritage.
Charlemagne and the Alps recalls all this through the places, times and figures of those journeys: ivories, illuminated manuscripts, reliquaries, the life of the medieval alpine peoples and the legends.

This volume - published alongside an exhibition held in two locations: Susa and Novalesa - presents a selection of masterpieces that range from the final years of the Merovingian kings (who preceded Charlemagne and his arrival in Italy but is an expression of the same civilisation) to objects and testimonies of the period of the Ottonian emperors around the year 1000: objects, manuscripts, miniatures and reproductions dated between the seventh and eleventh centuries illustrating themes such as travel, contacts, religion and social life in the medieval Alps.
A special section is devoted to the figure of Charlemagne and how he was viewed from the late middle ages through to our day, and also the oldest and most important Medieval musical manuscripts, produced in the scriptorium of the Abbey of Novalesa which owes its fame precisely to Charlemagne.