Abbey
The Carthusian monastery of Madonna della Losa stands on the heights overlooking Gravere. The history of the chapel, which stands in the heart of the hamlet on a splendid natural balcony which dominates the entire Susa basin, is linked to the presence of the Carthusian monastery. In fact, in 1189 one of the first Carthusian monastic communities in Piedmont settled in this town.
In 1198 the Carthusians of Losa obtained the lands of Montebenedetto and the Orsiera valley near Villar Focchiardo as a gift, and by 1200 the community had already moved from Losa to Montebenedetto. The primitive Cathusian monastery was then transformed into a chapel and the first documentary evidence of its dedication to the Virgin de Pietate dates back to 1432. The ancient chapel has the most valuable decorative elements, the oldest pictorial cycle, damaged by water infiltrations, was replaced during the seventeenth century by a second cycle of similar iconography. The chapel of the Madonna della Losa also housed a valuable wooden altarpiece from the fifteenth century, depicting the Virgin in contemplation of the episodes of the Passion of Christ. This altar is still preserved, for security reasons, at the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art in Susa.
In 1198 the Carthusians of Losa obtained the lands of Montebenedetto and the Orsiera valley near Villar Focchiardo as a gift, and by 1200 the community had already moved from Losa to Montebenedetto. The primitive Cathusian monastery was then transformed into a chapel and the first documentary evidence of its dedication to the Virgin de Pietate dates back to 1432. The ancient chapel has the most valuable decorative elements, the oldest pictorial cycle, damaged by water infiltrations, was replaced during the seventeenth century by a second cycle of similar iconography. The chapel of the Madonna della Losa also housed a valuable wooden altarpiece from the fifteenth century, depicting the Virgin in contemplation of the episodes of the Passion of Christ. This altar is still preserved, for security reasons, at the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art in Susa.
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