Adventure through time> Fortifications of the Alps

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Fortifications of the Alps
The traces of time from the Alps to the plain

Day 4: Vinadio

Fort of Vinadio

From 1818, a vast program of fortifications was launched along the Piedmont Alps, to reconstruct the forts destroyed by the French. The works lasted until 1847.
More than 50 pieces of artillery were installed in the fort. The last modernization was carried out between 1880 and 1882. Become an enormous barracks, then an artillery warehouse, this fort was abandoned after the Second World War.

Cost: € 3 to € 7 / € 10 cumulative ticket
Location: Piazza Vittorio Veneto, 8 12010 Vinadio CN, Italy
Telephone: +39 3404 962 384 / +39 0171 959 151
website: http://www.fortedivinadio.it/it/timetable.html
Timetable: Timetables to be checked
Access: Between May and October

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Franco-Italian exchanges
Faced with a shortage of qualified labor (stonemasons, masons, blacksmith ...) locally, those responsible for the construction of the Fort de Tournoux were obliged to bring in labor from elsewhere.

Traditionally, the Piedmontese workforce supplied the valley with workers and masons during the summer months.
If it seemed delicate to bring in an enemy workforce, that did not prevent the Piedmontese from participating in the Tournoux site, despite the government's fear of the presence of potential spies. 

In addition, the rivalries between enemy neighbors are also expressed at an architectural level. Indeed, the construction by the Italians of the fort of Vinadio (30 km from the border, in the valley of Stura) competes with that of Tournoux and testifies to the Italian know-how in the matter!