Fenestrelle Fort

[2] General Catinat, better known in Piedmont for his victory at the Battle of Staffarda, the destruction of the Castle of Avigliana and the fire at the Castle of Rivoli, understood the danger posed by the Chisone Valley (Val Chisone) for the French Army and decided to build 3 small redoubts and a fort in the Fenestrelle area.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, this imposing fortification was besieged in August 1708 by Victor Amadeus II’s troops and conquered in 15 days.

[1][3][4] At the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, France officially ceded Fenestrelle and the upper Val Chisone to the Duchy of Savoy as required by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

The prison also held Pierre Picaud, whose story was the inspiration for Edmond Dantès, the main character in Dumas’s Count of Monte Cristo.

The Kingdom of Sardinia locked political prisoners, Mazzini's supporters and common criminals in the fort, including the Archbishop Luigi Fransoni.