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The Susa Valley has always been one of the privileged areas for connecting Italy with beyond the Alps, thanks to the Monginevro and Moncenisio passes. The Middle Ages established its leading European role as a transit route for merchants, armies, nobles, churchmen, and pilgrims who had to reach Rome, the heart of Christianity, or Santiago de Compostela, an ancient religious destination. Already in 333 AD, the Monginevro Pass was crossed by the author of the Itinerarium Burdigalense (the oldest description of a Christian pilgrimage route), who precisely noted the mansiones and stationes of the Susa Valley, some of which are now important archaeological sites; from the Early Middle Ages it is instead the Moncenisio Pass that became prominent with Charlemagne's first descent into Italy, in 773, for the Battle of the Chiuse against the Lombards.

The intense flow of people along the Via Francigena produced a constant exchange of knowledge, languages, and religiosity that contributed to the rise of important monasteries, places of worship, chapels and town centers, hospitalia, xenodochia, inns and hotels, fortified castles, fortified houses, and palaces. Today, traveling the Via Francigena in the Susa Valley means embarking on a journey of discovery of art, nature, and culture, where even the cuisine, seasonal typical products, festivals, and fairs of ancient tradition still actively express the identity of the territory. It is in this varied and authentic panorama that the route extends for over 190 km with two historic variants, starting from Moncenisio and Monginevro toward the valley floor, up to the center of Turin and Vercelli.