Perhaps few people know that in the small town of Borgone di Susa, in an area where history, legend and tradition have always intermingled, about 40 km from Turin, on a rocky spur, stands the monument known locally as “il Maometto” (Mohammed).
It is a bas-relief of an aedicule containing an anthropomorphic figure, dressed in a short tunic and a cloak, with both arms raised upwards, holding two objects that are not easy to identify. An animal, perhaps a dog, lies at its feet, while on the pediment there is an epigraph, now semi-erased, written in Latin.
The monument, datable to the second century A.D., seems to identify, rather than the Prophet, an ancient place of worship of Sylvanus, linked to the protective function of the god in an area where mining and quarrying activities are documented, in addition to sylvan-pastoral activities.
The environment where the bas-relief is found is particularly captivating: an acacia forest on the ancient royal road between Borgone and San Didero, lying at the base of a large cliff which accentuates the sometimes fairy-tale dimension of the site.
A somewhat "magical" place, well worth visiting if you are passing through the Susa Valley.
