Explore the historic highlights of Vicenza
Vicenza, Italy
1571-1572
Vicenza, Italy
15th century
Vicenza, Italy
1261
Vicenza, Italy
1550-1680
Vicenza, Italy
1580-1585
Vicenza, Italy
1482-1560
Vicenza, Italy
1567
Vicenza, Italy
1435
Vicenza, Italy
1672
Vicenza, Italy
1540s
Vicenza, Italy
1530s
The historical centre of Briançon is a strongly fortified town, built by Vauban to defend the region from Austrians in the 17th century. Its streets are very steep and narrow, though picturesque. Briançon lies at the foot of the descent from the Col de Montgenèvre, giving access to Turin, so a great number of other fortifications have been constructed on the surrounding heights, especially towards the east.
The Savoyards made two raids into French territory in 1691 and 1692. As a result, Vauban was dispatched to inspect the frontier defences, which had been ill-equiped to deal with the attack from Savoy. He returned to the area in 1700 to check on the progress that had been made since his first visit. When Vauban visited Briançon, work on the defences had already started under a local engineer, Monsieur d"Angrogne in 1692.