A little bit about where we are locatedMont Genevris (2550m) is part of the Alpie Cozie in the Piedmontese Alps of north west Italy. Over the centuries the French Duchy of Savoy and the Italian Principality of Piedmont have disputed the right to rule here. The Italian dialect spoken here by the locals is Piemontese. Before the second world war the Italian dictator Mussolini ordered defensive works to be constructed on the mountain -- their unfinished remains can be seen today.
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The summit is crowned by a war memorial known as 'il faro' -- the beacon dedicated to the fallen of the elite Italian Alpine Regiment. After the war, Genevris earned a reputation for excellent powder skiing and superb off-piste terrain. Until the early 2000's it was exploited by the Via Lattea Mountain Administration who installed chair and ski lifts but a change in their policy led to the dismantling of all the equipment and their abandonment of the mountain. |
History of Sauze d'OulxSauze d'Oulx is a town and comune in the province of Turin, Piedmont(northern italy) located 80 kilometres from Turin in the Val di Susa, at the foot ofmonte Genevris (2,536 m).
It was the site of the Freestyle Skiing events of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. Together with the villages of Pragelato, Sestriere, Claviere, Cesana Torinese, San Sicario and Montgenèvre, in France, it makes up the Via Lattea (Milky Way) skiing area. Since the beginning of the 19th century, Sauze d'Oulx has been a destination for the Turin aristocracy, with its famous winter resort Sportinia and is still a skiing favourite because of its natural location. |
Archaeological findings have proved the presence of Celtic settlements in the pre-Roman age. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, in the Middle Ages it was owned by the Novalesa Abbey and then by the prevosts of Oulx. From 1000, it was part of the Dauphiné and then of the Escartons Republic (until 1343); with the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) France gave it to the house of Savoy; in 1747 its territory was the seat of the Battle of Assietta between France and Savoy's Kingdom of Sardinia.
During the Fascist era, in 1928, its name was changed to Salice d'Ulzio, according to a wrong etymological interpretation of "Sauze" as "salice" (Italian for willow). After World War II, the town became an autonomous commune and the previous name was restored. |