Pertus

The "Trou de Touilles" is not located in Salbertrand along the ecomuseum route but in the territory of the municipality of Exilles, on the left orographic side of the Dora Riparia, near the Cima Quattro Denti at 2000 meters above sea level.

It is a symbolic place for the ecomuseum as it represents the emblem of hard work par excellence in the mountains: that of the miner and quarryman, a tiring and thankless profession everywhere, which up here takes on even greater risks and discomfort.

It was dug between the years 1526 and 1533 by the miner Colombano Romean commissioned by the residents of Cels, a hamlet of Exilles, and those of Ramats, a hamlet of Chiomonte, to bring the waters of the Rio Touilles to revitalize the entire slope, well exposed but dry.
A unique hydraulic work, about 450 meters long, one meter wide and two meters high, but in certain points much less; along the tunnel, the marks left by the chisel during the rock excavation, the niches used to support the lanterns, and the sculptures made by Romean depicting crosses, human faces, and fleur-de-lis are still clearly visible.
The tunnel, today as it was then, carries the waters flowing down from Mount Niblè to irrigate the crops of Exilles and Chiomonte. It can be fairly easily traversed in autumn when there is little water (an electric torch and spare shoes are absolutely necessary!).

It can be easily reached from Grange della Valle (Exilles) along a path recovered by the Forest Consortium of Alta Valle di Susa as part of the international project GEOPARCO DELLE ALPI COZIE. It can also be accessed, overcoming more challenging elevations, from Ambournet in Exilles or from Ramats in Chiomonte.