Claviere Municipality

The first Italian municipality on the border with France, it stands astride the Alps on the historic Montgenèvre hill, known in Roman times as Mons Matronae and among the most popular in ancient times. Claviere has always coexisted with the Via ad Galliam and then Via Francigena which connected the Alta Val di Susa with the Durance valley.

Given its border position, in the following centuries it experienced alternating vicissitudes between territorial autonomy and final dependence on the Escarton of Briançonnais and the diocese of Embrun, and as the territory of the upper valley came under Savoy dominion. The ancient nucleus of Claviere is located in the Beisse valley about 2 km from the current road that connects Claviere to Montgenèvre: this hypothesis would seem to be confirmed by the presence of foundations of houses dating back to the 13th century, and perhaps a chapel. The area was abandoned because it was hit by some avalanches between 1779 and 1783, and the nucleus took shape in its current position. The building of the current parish church of the Nativity of Mary has undergone numerous reconstructions up to the current expansion designed by the engineer. Giuseppe Momo between 1928 and 1936, and following the destructive bombing in 1944 the building was rebuilt again in 1949 with the addition of the bell tower.

The mountain ridges and peaks surrounding Claviere are among the most famous destinations in the Susa Valley, including Chaberton (3130 m), whose peak dominates the Cesana basin and the town of Clavière. At the top, to make the most of its strategic position, the Chaberton Battery was built in 1897, characterized by eight cylindrical towers and a series of underground tunnels that led to the ammunition depots. The Chaberton fortress was destroyed in 1940 by the guns of the French artillery stationed in Modane.

With the discovery of the mountains and the spread of winter sports since the beginning of the 1900s, Claviere became one of the destinations for the spread and practice of skiing with the first championships and the birth of the Monti della Luna district: if initially "skiing" was used by the soldiers stationed in Busson in order to control the border even in the winter period, in 1907 the first official downhill and jumping competition was held along the slopes of Montgenevre.

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