Glorioso Rimpatrio dei Valdesi

The Waldensian movement originated with Peter Waldo, a wealthy merchant from Lyon, who in the 12th century renounced his riches and began preaching evangelical poverty. His lifestyle choice was condemned by the Catholic hierarchy, leading to a history of persecution for Waldo and his followers, known as the "Poor of Lyon," by the Inquisition. This forced the movement into secrecy and dispersion across many European countries, including Austria, Germany, Languedoc, the alpine region of Dauphiné, and western Piedmont.

In 1685, following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, persecutions against the Waldensians resumed. Following the policy of Louis XIV of France, Victor Amadeus II imposed restrictions on his subjects of the Reformed religion, such as ceasing public manifestations, demolishing places of worship, expelling their ministers, and baptizing children in the Roman Church. When faced with exile, the Waldensians decided to resist, but many were massacred, deported to Savoyard prisons and fortresses, and perished. In 1687, just over 2,500 surviving Waldensians who had refused to recant after the bloody repression were freed from Savoyard prisons and exiled to Switzerland.

Three years later, in August 1689, the international situation turned in their favor. William III of Orange, now King of England, financed a military expedition to Piedmont as part of the war against France.
On the night of August 26, 1689, fewer than 1000 Waldensian and Huguenot exiles, led by Pastor Henri Arnaud, set out from the shores of Lake Geneva towards Savoy, hoping to return to their valleys in Piedmont.

On September 3, the eighth day of their march, the Waldensians, pursued by French and Piedmontese troops, in the territory of Exilles, descended from the Colletto dei Quattro Denti towards Eclause and then to Salbertrand. The bridge over the Dora Riparia, the only access to the watershed with Val Chisone, was guarded by the French army. During the night, the Waldensians launched a desperate attack with a white weapon charge. The cries of the boldest saying "Courage, courage, the bridge is conquered!" spurred the men to charge the bridge and managed to capture it, with few casualties compared to the enemies who left hundreds dead and countless wounded on the ground.
From Salbertrand, they dispersed into the Gran Bosco, managed to reach the Colle di Costapiana, and descend to Pragelato to return to their original valleys.

Upon returning to their lands, the Waldensians pledged at Sibaud, a hamlet of Bobbio Pellice, to maintain unity and solidarity among themselves. Besieged by French troops, they were engaged in months of guerrilla warfare and were forced to barricade themselves at Balsiglia, a hamlet above Massello, in the Val Germanasca. An attack in May 1690 by Franco-Savoyard troops nearly brought about their downfall, but a sudden shift in political alliances saved them when the Duke of Savoy turned against his former French allies.

Only in 1848 did the Waldensians obtain civil and political rights under King Charles Albert.