From rain to sun: an extraordinary day among the Sacra di San Michele, Villa Cerruti and the Castello di Rivoli

There are days that seem to start off on the wrong foot and yet end up giving unforgettable emotions. Our cultural trip yesterday was the perfect proof of that.

At departure, a torrential downpour seemed determined to test the participants’ spirits. Open umbrellas, eyes turned to the sky and a few inevitable worries accompanied the first stages of the journey. But President Giovanni Tommasi, true to his positive spirit, invited everyone not to lose heart and, half serious and half joking, even suggested getting the sunscreen ready. After a quick check of a weather app, in fact, he reassured the group: on arrival at the Sacra di San Michele the sun would be waiting for us.

And so it was.

Arriving at the foot of the famous Piedmontese abbey, the sky cleared, gifting us a splendid day. We tackled the first stretch of climb that leads to the entrance of the complex and, after collecting our access passes, we waited for our guide Silvia to arrive. The climb up to the monastery immediately sparked awe and wonder. Before us rose the majestic Sacra di San Michele, imposing and fascinating, suspended between history, faith and legend. The surrounding panorama helped make the atmosphere even more evocative.

Silvia, with great skill and passion, guided us in discovering the monastery’s thousand-year history, explaining the events that shaped its story through the centuries. From the spectacular Stairway of Death to the visit to the Abbey Church, up to the evocative ruins of the so-called New Monastery, every space managed to capture our attention and spark our curiosity.

At the end of the visit we said goodbye to and thanked our excellent guide, setting off again toward the coach to reach the second stop of the day: the Rivoli Castle.

At 12:30, exactly as scheduled, we arrived in front of the Castello di Rivoli, where our driver Maurizio, impeccable as always, accompanied us with professionalism, helpfulness, and great attention to the whole group.

After the entry procedures, the large group treated itself to a well-deserved lunch break at the Stuzzicheria, before resuming the afternoon cultural itinerary.

At 14:30 we were welcomed by Barbara, the guide appointed to take us to discover the Castello di Rivoli and the nearby Villa Cerruti. The first visit was dedicated precisely to the villa, located a few hundred meters from the castle. The choice to include this stop in the day’s program was no coincidence: the visit to Villa Cerruti, a place still little known to the general public, came about thanks to the careful research and in-depth work carried out by Manuela Codazzi, who identified in the extraordinary collection housed in the villa a cultural opportunity of absolute value for our participants.

To tell the truth, the initial impression was not particularly striking. The building, designed by architect Cataldo D’Imperio, dates from the Sixties and in fact presents rather sober, refined lines, surrounded by an elegant but not especially large garden. Nothing suggested what would await us beyond the threshold.

Once inside, however, every expectation was completely overturned.

The organization and the excellent Barbara showed us special care, assigning us a second guide, Armanda, so as to split the group and allow an easier, more in-depth visit.

From that moment our eyes literally stayed wide open before the extraordinary richness of the collection kept in the villa. Masterpieces, rarities and names that marked the history of 20th-century art followed one room after another. For the historical avant-gardes we were able to admire works by Paul Klee, Giacomo Balla, Max Ernst, René Magritte, Vasilij Kandinskij and Pablo Picasso. The later 20th century was instead represented, among others, by Alberto Burri, Lucio Fontana, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol and Giulio Paolini.

But these are only some of the many artists in a truly extraordinary collection, the result of the passion and foresight of Accountant Francesco Federico Cerruti, who liked to be called simply "Accountant" and not "Lawyer". A curiosity that was told to us during the visit and that helped make the figure of this refined collector even more interesting. And although he was famously teetotal, the villa preserves a top-level wine cellar, further proof of his taste for beauty and excellence.

After finishing the visit to Villa Cerruti, we returned to the Castello di Rivoli to immerse ourselves in the rooms devoted to contemporary art.

For almost two hours we walked through spaces rich in works, installations and artistic suggestions. Barbara proved to be an outstanding guide, able to satisfy every curiosity, sharing details, anecdotes and meanings of the works on display, as well as telling us the fascinating historical events of the castle.

At 6:00 pm our driver Maurizio was already ready to welcome us for the return trip home, once again confirming the professionalism and reliability that accompanied the whole day.

It was an intense day in every respect. A day that required energy, attention and a good dose of physical endurance, but that repaid us with emotions, knowledge and beauty hard to forget.

For those who love statistics, our smartwatch recorded a full 8,567 steps, about 7 kilometers covered, 86 floors equivalent and a total elevation gain of 258 meters.

Not bad for what, on paper, was supposed to be just a simple cultural trip.

Once again we had confirmation that culture, when experienced together, can turn into an experience able to unite, move and leave precious memories in the hearts of all participants. A special thanks goes to everyone who took part in the day, to our guides Silvia, Barbara and Armanda, to the driver of the super-efficient Union Bus, our Maurizio, and to all those who, behind the scenes, work with passion to make these experiences possible. Among them, special recognition goes to Manuela Codazzi, whose constant search for original, high-quality cultural proposals continues to enrich the program of ARTandCHARITY activities.

See the photo gallery: click here