The Cenischia ( Italian pronunciation: [tʃeˈniskja] ; French : Cenise , French pronunciation: [səniz] ) is a mountain torrent which straddles the south-west French department of Savoie and the north-west Italian Metropolitan City of Turin , in Piedmont . Part of the Po basin , it is a left tributary of the Dora Riparia and forms the valley called the Val Cenischia which marks the boundary between the Graian Alps to the north and the Cottian Alps to the south.
23-590: The sources are in France near the Col du Mont Cenis (Italian: Colle del Moncenisio ). Before crossing into Italy, the river is dammed to form the Lac du Montcenis which receives the water of a number of other torrents and is employed as a source of hydropower . The Cenischia flows out of the reservoir near La Grande Croix and, having crossed into Italy, passes through the settlements of Moncenisio , Novalesa and Venaus before meeting
46-593: A part of Savoy was left on the Italian side. It was, therefore, highly 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 the top of Mont Malamot . Two further armored batteries, La Court and Paradiso, were added in
69-744: 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 (49.9 km / 37 mi from Modane) where the road joins the railway. To the southwest of the Mont Cenis is the Little Mont Cenis (2184.2 m / 7166 ft), which leads from the summit plateau (in Italy) of the main pass to the Etache valley on the French slope and so to Bramans in
92-552: Is 13 km in length, and leads to Bardonecchia , some way below which, at Oulx the line joins the road from the Col de Montgenèvre . 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. In 1414, Niccolò III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara travelled on this route returning from Paris having met Charles VI , and described
115-510: Is a massif in Savoie ( France ) (with an elevation of 3,612 m (11,850 ft) at Pointe de Ronce and a pass at an elevation of 2,085 m (6,841 ft)), which forms the limit between the Cottian and Graian Alps . The term "Mont Cenis" could be derived from mont des cendres ("mountain of ashes"). According to tradition, following a forest fire, a great quantity of ashes accumulated on
138-556: Is occasionally drained for maintenance. The pass of Mont Cenis has been featured 5 times in the Tour de France . It has been classified hors-catégorie (yielding the highest number of points in the King-of-the-Mountains classification) since 1999. For the 5 years that the pass was on the Tour, the following cyclists have crossed the pass in the lead: In the 2013 Giro d'Italia , the pass
161-683: The Dora Riparia at Susa . This Savoie geographical article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Piedmont location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in France is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in Italy is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Col du Mont Cenis Mont Cenis ( French pronunciation: [mɔ̃ s(ə)ni] ; Italian : Moncenisio , pronounced [montʃeˈnizjo] )
184-653: The Arc valley. The pass runs parallel to the Fréjus Rail Tunnel . This (highest point 1295 m / 4249 ft) is really 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 (98.2 km / 61 mi from Chambéry). The tunnel
207-547: The Col du Mont Cenis as having "a good ascent and bad descent". This pass was crossed in 1689 by the Vaudois, and is believed by some authors to have been the pass used by Hannibal to cross the Alps . As an Alpine pass, Mont Cenis featured in several historical incidents. One example is the descent of Constantine I to Italy, to fight against Maxentius . It was the site of a military victory by
230-553: 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 France and Italy until the 19th century. It was also used as the main passage by which Charlemagne crossed with his army to invade Lombardy in 773, and later by Napoleon I. Mont Cenis
253-568: The Papal Army by Pope Boniface IX . In 1405 he ceded the ancestral family lands near Este to Venice. In 1410 the fighting master Fiore dei Liberi dedicated his treatise, the Fior di Battaglia , to him. In 1413 he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land . In 1418 he remarried Parisina Malatesta , daughter of Andrea Malatesta . Two years later, fearing the ambitions of Filippo Maria Visconti , he ceded to him
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#1732852840598276-520: The battle and Azzo himself was taken prisoner and subsequently imprisoned by Astorre I Manfredi , commander of the Regency Council forces, thus removing the threat to Niccolò's rule. In 1397 Niccolò married Gigliola da Carrara , daughter of Francesco II da Carrara , lord of Padua . In 1403 he joined the league formed against Gian Maria Visconti , Duke of Milan, being appointed Captain General of
299-472: 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 Lac Du Mont Cenis is an artificial dam that was constructed in 1921 on top of the original road and border crossing. It feeds two hydroelectric power plants. The lake
322-459: The ground, thus the name. The path of ashes was found during the building work of the route. The pass connects Val-Cenis in France in the northwest with Susa in Italy in the southeast. Thence, the valley of the Dora Riparia is followed to Turin (103.8 km / 64.5 mi from Modane). The carriage road mounts the Arc valley for 25.7 km / 16 mi from Modane to Lanslebourg , whence it
345-421: The pass was built between 1802 and 1805 by Napoleon to improve military connections. By 1810, it was the most travelled road between France and Italy, as Strasbourg was closed to silk trade traffic from Vienna , leading to Lyon becoming a major trade centre instead. 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
368-443: The possession of Parma . In 1425 Niccolò had both his wife Parisina and his illegitimate son Ugo executed on charges of adultery, as well as decreeing that all women within his domains found to be guilty of adultery were to be put to death. He had to rescind this order once it was determined that this action would depopulate Ferrara. In that year he was again commander-in-chief of the anti-Visconti league. In 1429 his illegitimate son
391-665: The rule of the city in 1393 when only 10 years old. As a minor he was guided by a Regency Council supported by the Republics of Venice , Florence and Bologna . In 1395 the troops of the Regency Council were attacked at the Battle of Portomaggiore by Niccolò's relative Azzo X d'Este , a descendant of Obizzo II d'Este , who contested Niccolò's right to rule in Ferrara due to his illegitimate birth, even though Niccolò had been legitimated by his father. However, Azzo's mercenary forces were defeated in
414-565: The world, there are also Zoige and Litang areas with similar climatic characteristics here. The average annual temperature in Mont Cenis is 2.6 °C (36.7 °F). The average annual rainfall is 753.6 mm (29.67 in) with May as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 11.3 °C (52.3 °F), and lowest in February, at around −4.5 °C (23.9 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Mont Cenis
437-480: Was 27.6 °C (81.7 °F) on 26 June 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −24.7 °C (−12.5 °F) on 4 February 2012. Niccol%C3%B2 III d%27Este, Marquis of Ferrara Niccolò III d'Este (9 November 1383 – 26 December 1441) was Marquess of Ferrara from 1393 until his death. He was also a condottiero . Born in Ferrara , the son of Alberto d'Este and Isotta Albaresani, he inherited
460-459: Was featured in the 15th stage on May 19, 2013. Mont Cenis has a subarctic climate ( Köppen climate classification Dfc ). Due to the elevation of the top of the mountain at 2,030 m (6,660 ft), the temperature here is significantly lower than that of the plains. Even the warmest months of July and August, the temperature rarely rises above 25 °C (77 °F), and often falls below minus −20 °C (−4 °F) in severe winter. Around
483-759: Was named heir of the Marquisate. The role of Niccolò as a prestigious leader in Italy was confirmed when his city was chosen as the seat of a council in 1438. Niccolò had children with at least eleven different women. He married first Gigliola da Carrara , daughter of Francesco II da Carrara , lord of Padua in June 1397. She died of the plague in 1416. They had no known children. He married secondly Parisina Malatesta , daughter of Andrea Malatesta . He had her executed on 21 May 1425 for allegedly having an affair with his illegitimate son Ugo d'Este . They had three children: He married thirdly Ricciarda of Saluzzo in 1429. She
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#1732852840598506-500: 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 completely in France. The treaty allowed Savoy to retrieve its historical and political boundaries. It has historically been part of Route nationale 6 . A road over
529-584: Was the first ever railway based on the Fell mountain railway system and was worked by English engine-drivers. The Fréjus Rail Tunnel acquired the alternative, and geographically incorrect, name of Mont Cenis Tunnel because the traffic which formerly used the Mont Cenis Pass was transferred to it. When the Kingdom of Sardinia -Piedmont ceded Savoy to France in 1860, the Mont Cenis became a frontier pass, and consequently,
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