Pinerolo

Pinerolo lies on the Chisone southwest of Turin, where routes from the Alpine valleys reach the Piedmontese plain. Recorded in a grant of 981, it became a commune in the thirteenth century and a principal fortress of the House of Savoy. Its position also made it a target for French armies crossing the mountains.

The counts of Savoy had exercised a protectorate over Pinerolo from the thirteenth century. France captured Pinerolo in 1536 and held it until 1574. The Treaty of Cherasco returned the town to France in 1631, giving the French a stronghold on the Italian side of the Alps. Under the Treaty of Turin in 1696, France agreed to return it to Savoy, on condition that the fortifications be demolished and Savoy leave the League of Augsburg.