Tranvia Sassi-Superga 'Dentera'

Since the 1880s, a rack railway has connected Sassi on the Po with the royal basilica on Superga hill above Turin. The present rack tramway, run by GTT, is a living piece of transport heritage — the only facility of its kind in Italy — with the whole city laid out below along the way.

Why it matters

The Sassi–Superga line, known affectionately as the Dentera — "the toothed one", after its central rack rail — is the last functioning rack tramway in Italy and the scenic threshold to Superga's basilica. GTT, the operator, traces its tradition back to 1884, when an Agudio cable system first connected the Po valley station of Sassi with the hilltop; in 1934 the line was converted to the present rack-tramway principle, with traction on a central toothed rail, and refurbished vehicles evoke the atmosphere of the early twentieth century. The 3,100-metre line climbs from 225 to 650 metres above sea level at an average gradient of 13.5 per cent, with views over Turin, the Po and the Alps. As transport engineering and as an approach to one of Piedmont's most meaningful monuments, the Dentera is an attraction in its own right rather than a mere shuttle.

What to notice

• The central rack rail between the running rails — the "dente" that gives the tramway its nickname — and the way the vehicle grips it on the relentless climb.
• The refurbished vintage-style tram, whose interiors recall the line's earlier decades; a locomotive carriage can haul up to two wagons, with a total capacity of 210 passengers.
• The unfolding panorama over Turin: the Mole Antonelliana and the city grid, the River Po, and on clear days the long chain of the Alps.
• The dome of the Basilica of Superga, designed by Filippo Juvarra, and the royal tombs.
• The small tramway museum at the Sassi station.

Context and history

The hill of Superga has drawn pilgrims and travellers since the basilica was built in the early eighteenth century after the vows of Vittorio Amedeo II, and by the late nineteenth century Turin's expanding middle class wanted an easy way up. The answer arrived in 1884 with the Agudio steam-cable system, an ingenious aerial-wire haulage that carried carriages up the mountainside; it remained in service until the rack conversion of 1934, which replaced the aerial system with the cog-wheel principle still used today. GTT continues to operate the line as one of its tourist facilities, describing it as unique in Italy. The rolling stock deliberately echoes the trams of the past. Riding the Dentera is therefore not only transport but a journey through the history of tourist engineering in the Alps' first leisure age.