Built from the 18th to the 19th century in Val Chisone, in the province of Turin, the fort of Fenestrelle is a fortified complex known as the "great wall of Piedmont". The fortress develops along the entire left side of the valley and has been included among the 100 most endangered historical-archaeological sites of world importance. Designed to protect the French-Piedmontese border, the fortress was never involved in sieges or assaults but was only the protagonist of a few skirmishes especially during the Second World War. The Fortress, 3 kilometres long and distributed over a height difference of 650 metres, consists of three fortified complexes: the San Carlo, the Tre Denti and the Delle Valli, joined by a tunnel inside which runs the longest covered staircase in Europe, with 4 thousand steps. It is possible to take guided tours through the history and culture of the fortress by entering the palaces and the basements, walking along a long and beautiful stretch of the covered staircase, where you can admire the casemates, the redoubts and the profiles of the fortress square, and reach a height of 1,400 meters to admire the Garitta del Diavolo, a splendid panoramic viewpoint of the valley located at Forte Tre Denti. Moreover, in summer, until November 9th, it is possible to watch a unique show with a suggestive re-enactment at night where a theatre company tells the story and the secrets from 1728 to the present day of the biggest alpine fortification in Europe.
