Fort de Giaure

En un regard

Le château en bref

Fort de Giaure is a military work located at an altitude of about 2,253 metres above the Col de Tende, in the commune of Tende (Alpes-Maritimes), in the immediate vicinity of the Franco-Italian border. Its construction, awarded on 10 July 1883 to the contractor Giuseppe Maggia, was part of the Italian programme for the defence of the Col de Tende drawn up on the basis of the 1871 defence plan, intended to contain a possible French offensive. The works, carried out on the model of the Séré de Rivières system, lasted about 400 days. The fort has a symmetrical pentagonal plan surrounded by a continuous ditch cut into the rock, with an attack front to the south and a gorge front to the north fitted with casemates. Built of local materials (granite, limestone, schist) covered with render, it was armed with ten artillery pieces. A telephone and telegraph line connected it to the other works of the system from October 1892. It is the highest point of the Col de Tende defensive system, linked by an old road to the neighbouring Fort Pernante. Following the 1947 referendum, the commune of Tende and its territory, including the fort, were attached to France. The work, now in ruins, is listed in the general inventory of cultural heritage under the name "batterie dite fort Giaura".