Maurienne (; ; ) is one of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

s of

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in

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 ...

. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Grande Casse 1-2

Location

The Maurienne valley is one of the great transverse valleys of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. The river which has shaped the valley since the last

glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...

is the Arc. The valley begins at the village of Écot (in the '' commune'' of Bonneval-sur-Arc), at the foot of the Col de l'Iseran, and ends at the confluence of the Arc and the

Isère Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère (river), Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.

in the ''commune'' of Aiton. The mountains on the southern side are the Dauphiné Alps and the Cottian Alps. On the northern side are the part of the Graian Alps known as the Vanoise. The capital, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, lies at the confluence of the Arc and the Arvan.

Roads and railways

Part of the main road and rail route between

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and

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 ...

runs through the valley. The A43 autoroute and a railway line enter at the western end from the

valley, and leave at Modane using the Fréjus

Road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

and Rail Tunnels respectively which both emerge at Bardonecchia in

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 ...

. The Turin–Lyon high-speed railway will also be built through the lower valley. The other roads out of the valley use the following mountain cols: * The Col de l'Iseran toward the Tarentaise Valley * The Col du Mont-Cenis toward

* The Col du Télégraphe and the Col du Galibier toward the Col du Lautaret which gives access in turn (in different directions) towards

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an a ...

* The Col de la Croix-de-Fer and the Col du Glandon toward

* The Col de la Madeleine toward the Tarentaise * The Col du Grand Cucheron towards the

valley Other cols such as the Col d'Etache, Col du Carro and the Col de Vallée Etroite are only passable on foot.

Districts

Geographers traditionally distinguish three areas: the lower, middle and upper Maurienne. The province contains the following ''cantons'', from west to east : * canton d'Aiguebelle * canton de La Chambre * canton de Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne * canton de Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne * canton de Modane * canton de Lanslebourg-Mont-Cenis

Economy

The abundance of hydro-electric power (there are twenty-four hydroelectric stations in the valley) created heavy industry such as electrochemical plants and aluminum refining, but now the emphasis in the area is on tourism, especially winter sports. Numerous ski resorts line the valley, from the small villages like Albiez-Montrond to the purpose-built resorts, dating from the 1970s like Le Corbier and Les Karellis. The Vanoise National Park and its protected surroundings are a major tourist attraction. Alpine ibex, grey wolves, lynx, royal eagles or vultures are among the many rare species that live in the numerous valleys of Maurienne. The famous but rare and expensive Bleu de Termignon cheese is made in the commune of Termignon in the Haute-Maurienne near the Italian border.

History

The region has numerous traces of human habitation since the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

. In 1032, Humbert the White-Handed received the Maurienne, his native land, from Conrad II the Salian whom he had helped in his Italian campaigns against Aribert, Archbishop of Milan. The House of Savoy maintained their independence as counts and then dukes until

was linked with the Kingdom of Sardinia, which included Piedmont in north-western Italy. In the Maurienne are a series of five forts, La Barrière de l'Esseillon, that were created by the Sardinians in the early 19th century to protect

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 ...

from a French invasion. The Maurienne was not incorporated into France until 1860, as part of the political agreement with Napoleon III that brought about the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

. Despite this, the Maurienne and the Tarentaise valleys are classified as French towns and lands of Art and History.

The middle Maurienne

The middle part of the valley is industrial, and its significant towns are: * Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne * Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne

The upper Maurienne

The upper valley of the Arc is known as ''haute Maurienne''. It lies along the Italian border around 45 km near Mont Cenis. It begins east of Modane, an old frontier town, at the mouth of the Fréjus Road Tunnel, dominated by the resort of Val Fréjus. The villages, rising up from the valley, are: *le Bourget * Avrieux * Villarodin * Aussois (ski resort) * Bramans (authentic town) * Sollières-Sardières (has a useful small airstrip) * Termignon * Lanslebourg-Mont-Cenis, Lanslevillard (the two villages form the resort Val Cenis) * Bessans (popular area for

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

and international

biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...

stadium, unique in France) * Bonneval-sur-Arc (area for

Alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

)

About 5,000 inhabitants live there permanently, but the population reaches about 15,000 in the winter. Much of the upper Maurienne is included in Vanoise National Park, which became the first national park in France in 1963. This borders Gran Paradiso National Park of Italy. The two parks are important areas for ibexes, chamois, and

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

s; the lammergeier was recently reintroduced into the area. It appears that wolves have reached the region within the past five years.

Skiing and snowboarding

The Maurienne valley is home to around 20 ski resorts. There is also access to The Three Valleys via the Orelle gondola.

Alpine/downhill

In rough order heading up the valley: * Saint-François-Longchamp (linked to Valmorel) * Les Sybelles comprising Le Corbier, La Toussuire, Saint-Jean-d'Arves, Saint-Sorlin-d'Arves, Les Bottières, Saint-Colomban-des-Villards * Albiez-Montrond * Les Karellis * Valloire and Valmeinier * Orelle, where the gondola gives access to the Plan Bouchet skiing area, and hence Val Thorens and the " Three Valleys" * Valfréjus * La Norma * Aussois * Bramans * Termignon * Val Cenis * Bonneval-sur-Arc

Cross country

* Bessans * Sollières-Sardières

Notes and references

External links

www.maurienne.fr
official portal site for the area
The tourism portal for Maurienne

Map of the Maurienne Valley Ski Resorts

Savoie Patrimoine - Foundation for the international cultural action in the mountains

Discover the Savoie-Maurienne with the Latitude-Gallimard internet series
{{Coord, 45, 12, N, 6, 40, E, type:landmark_source:frwiki, display=title Landforms of Savoie Valleys of France Valleys of the Alps Landforms of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes