The Sacra di San Michele, also known as St Michael's Abbey, sits on top of the rocky Mount Pirchiriano, towering over the Val di Susa valley in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. This monumental religious complex was built between 983 and 987, although some historians believe an ancient Roman military base existed there prior to the abbey.

According to tradition, Sacra di San Michele was constructed by the hermit S. Giovanni Vincenzo at the behest of Saint Michael, the archangel who warred with Lucifer.Under Benedictine rule, the abbey expanded greatly over the centuries and is now entrusted to the Rosminian religious order.