Cesana Torinese (French ''Césanne'') is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) in the

Metropolitan City of Turin The Metropolitan City of Turin (; Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ''sità metropolitan-a 'd Turin'') is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin. It replaced the prov ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

region

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

, located about west of

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, on the border with France. Cesana is a popular winter ski resort, being connected to both

San Sicario Sansicario (also spelled San Sicario) is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Cesana Torinese (Metropolitan City of Turin) in Piedmont, north-western Italy. It lies at in the Val Susa and has a population of 93 people. It is a famous winter tou ...

Sestriere Sestriere (, , , ) is a ski resort in Piedmont, Italy, a ''comune'' (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Turin. It is situated in Val Susa, from the France, French border. Its name derives from Latin language, Latin: ''ad petram sistrariam ...

and Claviere/ Montgenevre via chairlifts and gondolas. A run connecting Sagnalonga Monti della luna to Cesana is currently being renovated and will be open from 2022. During the summer, Cesana is a popular holiday destination, famous for its many trekking and alpine lakes in the neighbouring areas.

Geography

Cesana Torinese covers 12,130 haCity Charter of Cesana Torinese; article 3
Statuto comunale: Art. 3; Territorio e sede comunale
) and is bordered by the comune of

Oulx Oulx (, , ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin, in the Susa Valley on the border with France. Names Like many other towns in the Susa Valley, Oulx has diff ...

on the north,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on the south, the comunes of Sauze di Cesana and

on the east, and the comune of Claviere and France on the west.

History

Cesana Torinese is sited on the route of the Roman road leading from the

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain (, , or ) is a major geographical feature of northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetian Plain, Venetic extension not actu ...

to Gaul. During the Middle Ages the road lost its commercial importance but retained its military significance. Cesana was controlled by the counts of Albon and dauphins of Viennois until the second half of the 14th century, when he ceded the lands and title to France. In 1155

Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aa ...

authorised the dauphin Guigues V of Albon to mint silver coins in Cesana - from 1281 the coins bore the dauphins' symbol of a dolphin, which was also shown in all local coats of arms. In 1343, with the dauphins' concession, the Escarton Republic was born, on lands now divided between France and Italy. Cesana thus found itself in Escarton d'Oulx until 1713, when it was ceded to the

Savoyard state The Savoyard state comprised the states ruled by the counts and dukes of Savoy from the Middle Ages to the formation of the Kingdom of Italy. Although it was an example of composite monarchy, it is a term applied to the polity by historians an ...

by the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...

. Between the 14th and 17th centuries the Cesana valley was damaged directly and indirectly by the wars of religion, mainly fought against the " Waldensian heretics" in the Valle Chisone. During the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

(1701-1714) the territory was attacked and conquered by French troops. In the 18th century Cesana's strategic importance declined until an era when new roads were constructed and the town once again benefited from commercial traffic. In 1928 some previously independent towns ( Désèrtes, Bousson, Fenils, Mollières, Solomiac and Thures) were merged with that of Cesana. Cesana was one of the venues for the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

, hosting the biathlon, women's alpine skiing,

bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobslei ...

luge A luge () is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds Supine position, supine (face-up) and feet-first. A luger begins seated, propelling themselves initially from handles on either side of the start ramp, then steers by using the Ca ...

and

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...

. It also hosted the biathlon for the

2007 Winter Universiade The 2007 Winter Universiade, the XXIII Winter Universiade, took place in Turin, Italy from January 17 to 27, 2007. Opening ceremony The Opening Ceremony of the XXIII Winter Universiade Torino 2007 was held with a cast of acrobats, circus perform ...

Twin cities

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

References

External links

Official website
Cities and towns in Piedmont {{Turin-geo-stub

Geography

History

Twin cities

See also

References

External links