Mont Cenis
Mont Cenis is a massif and pass in Savoie, which forms the limit between the Cottian and Graian Alps. The pass connects Val-Cenis in France in the northwest with Susa in Italy in the southeast. In the Middle Ages, pilgrims passing through Moncenisio and Susa Valley came to Turin along a road called the Via Francigena, with a final destination of Rome, it was one of the most used Alpine passes from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century. The pass was part of the border between the two countries from the annexation of Savoy to the Second French Empire in 1861 until the 1947 Treaty of Paris, but is now located in France; the treaty allowed Savoy to retrieve its political boundaries. It has been part of Route nationale 6. A road over the pass was built between 1810 by Napoleon; the Mont Cenis Pass Railway was opened alongside the road in 1868, but was dismantled in 1871, on the opening of the Fréjus Rail Tunnel. It was the first railway based on the Fell mountain railway system and was worked by English engine-drivers.
The Fréjus Rail Tunnel acquired the alternative, geographically incorrect, name of Mont Cenis Tunnel because the traffic which used the Mont Cenis Pass was transferred to it. This tunnel is 27.4 km 17 miles southwest of the pass, below the Col du Fréjus. From Chambéry the line runs up the Isère valley, but soon bears through that of the Arc or the Maurienne past Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Modane; the tunnel is 13 km in length, leads to Bardonecchia, some way below which, at Oulx the line joins the road from the Col de Montgenèvre. Thence the valley of the Dora Riparia is followed to Turin; the carriage road mounts the Arc valley for 25.7 km / 16 mi from Modane to Lanslebourg, whence it is 12.9 km / 8 mi to the hospice, a little way beyond the summit of the pass. The descent lies through the Cenis valley to Susa. To the southwest of the Mont Cenis is the Little Mont Cenis which leads from the summit plateau of the main pass to the Etache valley on the French slope and so to Bramans in the Arc valley.
This pass was crossed in 1689 by the Vaudois, is believed by some authors to have been the pass used by Hannibal to cross the Alps. The term "Mont Cenis" could derive from mont des cendres. According to tradition, following a forest fire, a great quantity of ashes accumulated on the ground, thus the name; the path of ashes was found during the building work of the route. Being a pass in the Alps, the Mont Cenis was used in several notable incidents in history. One example is the descent of Constantine I to Italy, it was the site of a military victory by the French Army of the Alps, led by General-in-Chief Alex Dumas over Piedmontese forces in April 1794, a victory that enabled the French Army of Italy to invade and conquer the Italian peninsula. It was the principal route for crossing the Alps between Italy until the 19th century, it was used as the main passage by which Charlemagne crossed with his army to invade Lombardy in 773, by Napoleon I. When the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont ceded Savoy to France, in 1860, the Mont Cenis became a frontier pass, a part of Savoy was left on the Italian side.
It was therefore fortified as a protection against an invasion of the Val di Susa route towards Turin. In 1874-1880 the Italian Regio Esercito built three stone forts: Fort Cassa, Fort Varisello and Fort Roncia, supported by several batteries and fortifications, such as those at top of Mont Malamot. Two further armored batteries, La Court and Paradiso, were added in the early 20th century, while the Fascist government built here part of its underground Alpine Wall. All these fortifications are now in French territory after the boundaries revision in 1947 allowing Savoy to get its historical territory back; the pass of Mont Cenis has been featured 5 times in the Tour de France. It has been classified hors-catégorie since 1999. For the 5 years that the pass was on the Tour, the following cyclists have crossed the pass in the lead: 1949 - Giuseppe Tacca, France 1956 - Federico Bahamontes, Spain 1961 - Emmanuel Busto, France 1992 - Claudio Chiappucci, Italy 1999 - Dimitri Konyshev, RussiaIn the 2013 Giro d'Italia, the pass was featured in the 15th stage on May 19, 2013.
Jardin botanique de Mont Cenis, an alpine botanical garden List of highest paved roads in Europe List of mountain passes This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed.. "Mont Cenis". Encyclopædia Britannica. 18. Cambridge University Press. P. 762. Val Cenis official website Profile on climbbybike.com Both Sides: Cycling Map and Photos Géologie aux alentours du col du Mont-Cenis Montcenis Comment en 1812 le pape Pie VII faillit mourir à l'hospice du Mont-Cenis. Chemin de Fer du Mont-Cenis Lac du Mont-Cenis Col du Petit Mont-Cenis Mont Cenis on Google Maps
Colle Scravaion
The Colle Scravaion is a mountain pass in the Province of Savona. It connects Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena with Bardineto; the pass stands between Rocca Barbena. Located on the main chain of the Alps it connects the basin of the Po plain, its northern slopes are occupied by vast beech woods, while the southern side is drier. The pass can be reached following the provincial road nr.52 Barreassi Calizzano. Near the saddle stands a small picnic place and, not far away from it on the southern side, an old roadman's house; the Scravaion pass is a popular cyclists' climb. The road from Zuccarello is considered pleasant because if it's quite tiring it offers good views on the Riviera di Ponente and several shaded stretches It is part of a ciclist's racetrack called Anello dei tre gioghi which encompasses Giogo di Toirano and Balestrino pass. Another interesting round-trip combines Colle Scravaion climb with Colle San Bernardo and Colle del Quazzo. Colle Scravaion is the starting point of an Alta Via dei Monti Liguri section.
List of mountain passes Media related to Colle Scravaion at Wikimedia Commons
Bardineto
Bardineto is a comune in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about 70 kilometres southwest of Genoa and about 30 kilometres southwest of Savona. Bardineto borders the following municipalities: Boissano, Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena, Giustenice, Magliolo, Pietra Ligure, Toirano. Colle Scravaion Giogo di Toirano Rocca Barbena
Ceva
Ceva, the ancient Ceba, is a small Italian town in the province of Cuneo, region of Piedmont, 49 kilometres east of Cuneo. It lies on the right bank of the Tanaro on a wedge of land between that river and the Cevetta stream. In the pre-Roman period the territory around Ceva was inhabited by the branch of the mountain Ligures known as Epanterii; the upper Val Tanaro was Romanized in the second century BC and it is known that the area was organized around a municipium. However, it is not certain that this was Ceba: Mombasiglio is regarded as a candidate. In the first century AD Columella referred to a particular breed of cattle raised here, Pliny the Elder praised its sheep’s milk cheese in his Natural History; the town is on the site of the old Roman road from Augusta Taurinorum via Pollentia to the coast and it is probable that there was a market here from which the cheese produced in the region was exported with Rome via the Ligurian ports of Vada Sabatia and/or Albingaunum. In the Middle Ages it was the seat of a small marquisate, which lasted until the late 15th century when it was acquired by Savoy.
Ceva was home to a fortress defending the confines of Piedmont towards Liguria, but the fortifications on the rock above the town were demolished in 1800 by the French, to whom it had been ceded in 1796. Ceva was damaged by a flood of the Tanaro and Bovina rivers; the 16th century castle of the Pallavicino stands in an area of green parkland between the Tanaro and the Cevetta and comprises two small palaces: the original, red palazzina rossa and the white palazzina bianca. Remains of the 16th century fort are present; the Duomo of Ceva known as the Collegiata dell'Assunzione della Beata Vergine Maria, was completed in 1605. Ceva is twinned with: Le Val, France Marquisate of Ceva This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed.. "Ceva". Encyclopædia Britannica. 5. Cambridge University Press. P. 777. Media related to Ceva at Wikimedia Commons Pliny on the cheese of Ceba in Book 11 of the Natural History: at Perseus at LacusCurtius
Main chain of the Alps
The main chain of the Alps called the Alpine divide is the central line of mountains that forms the water divide of the range. Main chains of mountain ranges are traditionally designated in this way, include the highest peaks of a range. Among these groups are the Dauphine Alps, the Eastern and Western Graians, the entire Bernese Alps, the Tödi, Albula and Silvretta groups, the Ortler and Adamello ranges, the Dolomites of South Tyrol, as well as the lower Alps of Vorarlberg and Salzburg; the Alps are divided into Western Alps and Eastern Alps, cut along a line between Lake Constance and Lake Como, following the Rhine valley. The Western Alps are higher; the Eastern Alps belong to Austria, Italy and Switzerland. The highest peak of the Western Alps is Mont Blanc, in 4,049 meters. Starting from the Bocchetta di Altare or di Colle di Cadibona, the main chain extends first south-west north-west to the Col de Tenda, though nowhere rising much beyond the zone of coniferous trees. Beyond the Col de Tenda the direction is first west north-west to the Rocca dei Tre Vescovi, just south of the Enciastraia, several peaks of about 3,000 metres rising on the watershed, though the highest of all, the Punta dell'Argentera stands a little way to its north.
From the Rocher des Trois Eveques the water divide runs due north for a long distance, though of the two loftiest peaks of this region one, the Aiguille de Chambeyron, is just to the west, the other, the Monviso, is just to the east of the divide. From the head of the Val Pellice the main chain runs north-west, diminishes much in average height until it reaches the Mont Thabor, which forms the apex of a salient angle which the main chain here presents towards.the west. From here the divide extends eastwards, culminating in the Aiguille de Scolette, but makes a great curve to the north-west and back to the south-east before rising in the Rocciamelone. From there the direction taken is north as far as the eastern summit of the Levanna, the divide rising in a series of snowy peaks, though the loftiest point of the region, the Pointe de Charbonnel, stands a little to the west. Once more the chain bends to the north-west, rising in several lofty peaks, before attaining the considerable depression of the Little St Bernard Pass.
The divide briefly turns north to the Col de la Soigne, north-east along the crest of the Mont Blanc chain, which culminates in the peak of Mont Blanc, the loftiest in the Alps. A number of high peaks line the divide. From there, after a short dip to the south-east, the chain takes, near the Great St. Bernard Pass, the eastern direction that it maintains until it reaches Monte Rosa, whence it bends northwards, making one small dip to the east as far as the Simplon Pass, it is in the portion of the watershed between the Grande St Bernard Pass and the Simplon that the main chain maintains a greater average height than in any other part. But, though it rises in a number of lofty peaks, such as the Mont Vélan, the Matterhorn, the Lyskamm, the Nord End of Monte Rosa, the Weissmies, many of the highest points of the region, such as the Grand Combin, the Dent Blanche, the Weisshorn, the true summit or Dufourspitze of Monte Rosa itself, the Dom, all rise on its northern slope and not on the main chain.
On the other hand the chain between the Grande St Bernard and the Simplon sinks at half a dozen points below a level of 3,000 metres. The Simplon Pass corresponds to. From there to the St. Gotthard the divide runs north-east, all the higher summits rising on it, a curious contrast to the long stretch just described. From the St. Gotthard to the Maloja the watershed between the basins of the Rhine and Po runs in an easterly direction as a whole, though making two great dips towards the south, first to near the Vogelberg and again to near the Pizz Gallagiun, so that it presents a broken and irregular appearance, but all the loftiest peaks rise on it: Scopi, Piz Medel, the Rheinwaldhorn, the Pizzo Tambo and Piz Timun. From the Maloja Pass the main watershed dips to the south-east for a short distance, runs eastwards and nearly over the highest summit of the Bernina Range, Piz Bernina, to the Bernina Pass. To the Reschen Pass the main chain is ill-defined, though on it rises the Corno di Campo, beyond which it runs north-east past the sources of the Adda and the Fraele Pass, sinks to form the depression of the Ofen Pass, soon heads north and rises once more in the Piz Sesvenna.
The break in the continuity of the Alpine chain marked by the deep valley, the Vinschgau, of the upper Adige is one of the most remarkable features in the orography of the Alps. The little Reschen Lake, which forms the chief source of the Adige is only 4 metres below the Reschen Pass, by it is 8 km from the Inn valley. Eastward of this pass, the main chain runs north-east to the Brenner Pass along the snowy crest of the Ötztal and Stubai Alps
Albenga
Albenga is a city and comune situated on the Gulf of Genoa on the Italian Riviera in the Province of Savona in Liguria, northern Italy. Albenga has the nickname of city of a hundred spires; the economy is based on tourism, local commerce and agriculture. Albenga has six hamlets: San Fedele, Campochiesa, Bastia, Salea. A settlement of pre-Roman origins on the west side of the Ligurian coast, it was founded around the 4th century BC on the slopes of the coastal hills, becoming the capital of the Ingauni Ligures tribe, who dedicated themselves to marine activities and controlled a large territory between Finale and Sanremo. During the Second Punic War the city allied itself with the Carthaginians, but was defeated by the Romans under proconsul Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus in 181 BC; the following year the Romans and the Ingauni signed a foedus which began the total Romanization of the whole region. Put under Latin rights in 89 BC, Albingaunum was granted Roman citizenship in 45 BC under Julius Caesar, starting to enjoy, with the beginning of the Empire, a period of prosperity.
A further boost for the city came from the building of the Via Julia Augusta, connecting it to southern France and Spain. In the meantime the intense exploitation of the flat land around the city continued. D. 354. During the 5th century, the city suffered from raids by the Visigoths, who destroyed and sacked it; the old Municipium, which now in a disastrous conditions, was rebuilt through the intervention of emperor Constantius III who gave the city stability and a defensive structure that allowed it to survive through the following centuries. Albenga established itself as a commune in 1098. From that time on, the Golden Red Cross coat of arms was displayed on its towers. After the invasion of northern Italy by emperor Frederick Barbarossa, the city supported him thanks to its Ghibelline allegiance, never abandoned during the following centuries. In 1159 it received imperial investiture for all its territory. In 1798 Albenga was declared capital of the Centa Jurisdiction, as part of the short living constitution of the Ligurian Republic.
In 1815 the city, together with the whole of Liguria, was assigned to the Savoyard Kingdom of Sardinia, becoming the capital of a province including Andora and Finale Ligure. In 1863, after the unification of Italy, the province was reduced to a district, was abolished in 1927. At the time Albenga had been reduced to an agricultural village, overtaken by other coastal towns in both economic and demographic development, owing to their superior touristic appeal; the name of Albenga comes from the Latin Albíngaunum that comes from Album Ingaunum, means the capital city + genitive plural in -um. The ethnonym Ingauni ing consists of Indo-European origin, a name of Gaulish-ligurian land. Album comes from alb o alp an ancient pre-Indo-European erroneously assocciata to "album" a Latin word meaning white or clear; the first name was Album Ingaunum, but when it was conquered by the Romans, the name became Albingaunum. Only in the 14th century did the name become Albenga. Albenga is located in the west Riviera.
It has a homonymous plain at the mouth of the river Centa, which over the centuries has been the architect of the Albenga's plain, remodeling the ground several times and forcing the Albenganesi to adopt embankments and bridges since its foundation. Until the 17th century, it based its economy on maritime trade, as the city was built on the delta of the Centa and was surrounded by walls and bridges. With the closure of other roads estuary delta, which occurred first at the hands of the Genoese and as the work of nature, now the river runs along the center flowing to the estuary; the memory of the old bridges was deleting itself. It is the main center of the district Albenganese, which extends from Finale to Andora and its hinterland, it includes the nature reserve of island Gallinara, where lived St. Martin of Tours. Just dedicated to this saint was a monastery on the island. After 1064 it became the possession of the abbey of Abbadia Alpina; the climate is mild along the coast, with mild winters and both hot and cold summers mitigated by the sea breeze.
The inner part of the plain has more continental characteristics, which create a greater temperature range, with harsher winters and summers. Built on the ancient orthogonal structure that had the current "Via Medaglie d'oro" and "Via Enrico d'Aste" as the Roman camp main road axes, the town has its planimetric hub in the historical San Michele Square. Around it some palaces were built, which were the seats of political and religious authorities. Built on the basic structures of the early Christian basilica put up by orders of Constantius III between the 4th and 5th century, it has a façade with traces of the transformation from Romanesque to Gothic. From this same period are the two lateral portals of the main facade and a third one the left side of the church, that hosts a restored Lombard bas-relief; the current design is the result of further elevations. The restoration works between 1964 and 1967 brought back the cathedral design to its original medieval aspect; the nearby steeple was attached to the church in the 13th century, built over the ruins of the old bell tower between the years 1391 and 1395.
This construction is
Col du Galibier
The Col du Galibier is a mountain pass in the southern region of the French Dauphiné Alps near Grenoble. It is the ninth highest paved road in the sixth highest mountain pass, it is the highest point of the Tour de France. It connects Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne and Briançon via the col du Télégraphe and the Col du Lautaret; the pass is closed during the winter. It is located between the massif d'Arvan-Villards and the massif des Cerces, taking its name from the secondary chain of mountains known as the Galibier. Before 1976, the tunnel was the only point of passage at the top, at an altitude of 2556 m; the tunnel was closed for restoration until 2002, a new road was constructed over the summit. The re-opened tunnel is a single lane controlled by traffic lights, which are among the highest such installations in Europe. In 1876 first passable road could be opened between Maurienne and Briançonnais Oisans. In the north passroad begins in Valloire, this place is only reachable via Col du Télégraphe, before Galibier and connects Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne with Valloire.
In the south the road begins at a level of 2,057 m Col du Lautaret, which connects Grenoble in the west with Briançon in the east. Highest point of this road was at an altitude of 2,658 m, 16 meters higher than nowadays; the road between Col du Lautaret is 24,5 kilometers long, 16 kilometers is the northern part, 8,5 kilometers is the south part. Road over Galibier was first a natural road and asphalted. In the area of the summit it was hard to travel; this was the reason why in 1890 a crest tunnel was built, opened in 1891. The tube is four meters broad, a single track; the new tunnel is at an altitude of 2556 meters, this is the reason why the highest point is now 102 meters lower. New build. 15 kilometers is the north part, 7,5 Kilometer is the south part and 0,5 kilometers is the crest tunnel. From the north, starting at Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, the climb is 34.8 kilometres long, gaining 2,120 metres in height. The actual climb to the summit starts at Valloire and is 18.1 kilometres long at an average of 6.9%.
The maximum gradient is 10.1% at the summit. From the south, the climb starts from the Col du Lautaret and is 8.5 kilometres long at an average gradient of 6.9% with a maximum of 12.1% at the summit. On both sides of the Col du Galibier mountain pass cycling milestones are placed every kilometre, they indicate the distance to the summit, the current altitude, the average slope in the following kilometre. The Col du Galibier was first used in the Tour de France in 1911; the original summit was at 2556 m.. In 2011, the Tour de France went through the tunnel for the first time during the 19th stage from Modane Valfréjus to L'Alpe d'Huez. At the south portal of the tunnel, at the edge of the road, there is a monument to Henri Desgrange and first director of the Tour de France; the memorial was inaugurated when the tour passed on 19 July 1949. Whenever the tour crosses the Col du Galibier, a wreath is laid on the memorial; the Souvenir Henri Desgrange is awarded to the first rider across the summit of the highest mountain in each year's tour.
In 2006, the prize of 5,000 euros was claimed on the Col du Galibier by Michael Rasmussen. Since 1947, the Col de Galibier has been crossed 31 times by the Tour de France, it was left out at the last minute due to bad weather. As a result of snow on both the Col de l'Iseran and the Col du Galibier, the scheduled 190 km stage from Val-d'Isère to Sestriere in Italy was reduced to a 46 km sprint from Le-Monetier-les-Bains, claimed by Bjarne Riis, resulting in him taking the yellow jersey which he retained to the finish in Paris. In the 2008 Tour, the Col du Galibier had been crossed on 23 July in the 210 km stage 17 from Embrun to Alpe d'Huez; the 2011 Tour climbed the Col du Galibier twice to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first appearance of the pass in the Tour de France, including the first summit finish, won by Andy Schleck after a 60 km solo breakaway. This was the highest stage finish in the Tour de France, it was scheduled to be used again in stage 20 of the 2015 Tour, but was left out nine days before the race start due to landslides in the Chambon Tunnel, situated towards the bottom of the descent of the climb.
The 2013 Giro d'Italia climbed the Col du Galibier, although the stage had to be shortened by 4 km due to heavy snowfall. List of highest paved roads in Europe List of mountain passes Dauphiné Alps Complete list of leaders over summit A Cycling History of Galibier Profile from Valloire on climbbybike.com Profile from Col du Lautaret on climbbybike.com Cycling the Col du Galibier - tips and advice Col du Galibier cycling. Profiles and pictures CYCLEFILM's Video Reconnaissance of Galibier Grenoble Cycling Col du Galibier information page including profiles and images Video Cycling with snow Col du Galibier on Google Maps
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Knox, Howard Vincent (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 740–741.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the 