The Maddalena Pass (
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
: ''Colle della Maddalena''
French: ''Col de Larche'', historically ''Col de l'Argentière'') (elevation 1996 m.) is a high
mountain pass between the
Cottian Alps
The Cottian Alps (; french: Alpes Cottiennes ; it, Alpi Cozie ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Ra ...
and the
Maritime Alps, located on the border between
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. It connects
Barcelonnette
Barcelonnette (; oc, Barciloneta de Provença, also ; obsolete it, Barcellonetta) is a commune of France and a subprefecture in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. It is located in the souther ...
in France with
Cuneo
Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area.
It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in ...
in Italy. Its French name ''Col de Larche'' refers to the village
Larche on its northwestern side.
Under its earlier name, Col de l'Argentière it has historically linked
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
with Italy; the Col de l'Argentière was in the possession of the
house of Savoy from 1388 to 1713, offering an easy route between Piedmont and its outlying valley of Barcelonnette, which came into Savoyard possession in 1388, when
Amadeus VI of Savoy purchased it for the sum of 60,000 ecus,
[W. A. B. Coolidge, "The Passages of the Alps in 1518" ''The English Historical Review'' 30 No. 120 (October 1915:681-691) pp 687-88, 690.] it was of such strategic and commercial importance.
A few hundred metres from the pass, on its Italian side, is the
Lago della Maddalena
The Maddalena Pass (Italian: ''Colle della Maddalena'' French: ''Col de Larche'', historically ''Col de l'Argentière'') (elevation 1996 m.) is a high mountain pass between the Cottian Alps and the Maritime Alps, located on the border between Ita ...
, which is the source of the
Stura di Demonte
Stura di Demonte ( la, Stura) is a long river in northwestern Italy (Piedmont).
Geography
The river is a tributary to the river Tanaro, which is a tributary of the river Po. Its source is in the Alps, near the border with France. It flows thr ...
, an important tributary of the
Tanaro
The Tanaro (; pms, Tane ; ; la, Tanarus), is a long river in northwestern Italy. The river begins in the Ligurian Alps, near the border with France, and is the most significant right-side tributary to the Po in terms of length, size of dra ...
.
See also
*
List of highest paved roads in Europe
This is a list of the highest paved roads in Europe. It includes roads that are over long and whose culminating point is at least above sea level. This height approximately corresponds to that of the highest settlements in Europe and to the t ...
*
List of mountain passes
This is a list of mountain passes.
Africa
Egypt
* Halfaya Pass (near Libya)
Lesotho
* Moteng Pass
* Mahlasela pass
* Sani Pass
Morocco
* Tizi n'Tichka
South Africa
* Eastern Cape Passes
* Western Cape Passes
* Northern Cape Passes
* ...
References
External links
Profile on climbbybike.com
Mountain passes of the Alps
Mountain passes of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Mountain passes of Piedmont
Province of Cuneo
France–Italy border crossings
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