The origins of the Exilles fort are still uncertain, but its existence is known as early as around 1155, when, within some chronicles, the castrum Exilliarum is mentioned. The fort, which already had a complex structure in 1339, was the defensive outpost first of the Dauphin d'Albon and, after 1350, of the Kingdom of France towards the Savoy dominions.
Conquered by the troops of Victor Amadeus II in 1708, the fort was first repaired and then substantially rethought in light of the 180-degree reversal of defensive logic imposed by the new state border. These works on the Savoy side (designs by Ignazio Bertola and Lorenzo Bernardino Pinto) were dismantled between 1796 and 1797.
The layout of the present building dates back to the Restoration period (plans by Giovanni Antonio Rana, from 1818, succeeded by Antonio Francesco Olivero and Agostino Verani), with a first substantial conclusion in the Carlo-Albertine era; further fortification phases are carried out after the passage of Savoy to France (1860) and in the 1870s-80s.
Definitively decommissioned after World War II, the fort was acquired by the Piedmont Region in 1978 and has been returned to public use and equipped with museum facilities since 2000.
Openings: June and September: Saturday and Sunday; July and August: Tuesday to Sunday (Aug. 14-15 open), Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Information: phone. 3276262304 - www.exillesilforte.it - assforteexilles@gmail.com
Address
- Forte di Exilles
- Find on the map.
