A forgotten border
This central fortress is part of a former Italian military defence system at 1,920 meters, that consists of several fortresses. It is built near the border over the Alps, between Italy and France. It separates the Maritime Alps from the Ligurian Alps. The pass road by the same name, built under Napoleon, connects the greater area of Turin with Nice.
The purpose of this system, designed as part of the Italian defence plan of 1871, was to secure the border crossing into Italy and prevent any advance of French troops.
The site of the central fortress was launched around 1880. Construction of the five other works followed.
They are stone masonry, typical of their time, surrounded by moats and accessed by a drawbridge, with several fronts to the valley, and were armed with cannons. The different rooms are connected by underground or masonry corridors on the surface, covered with grassy protective embankments.
The building materials were quarried on site, usually white limestone, or granite.
During the First World War, the works were disarmed for the Austrian front. Then, despite the advance of artillery, these old fortresses were used only as ammunition reserves and for dividing troops.
This fortified barrier was joined in the 20th century by a new defence system: the Alpine Wall was built before the Second World War.
From the Col de Tende to the Italian border, almost 130 buildings were built between 1931 and 1942. The end of the war and the accession of Tende and La Brigue to France in 1947 (Treaty of Paris) put an end to the strategic importance of the fortifications. Some of these structures are now on French territory.
