Colle delle Finestre Fort

The Forte del Colle delle Finestre is a military fort that was built in the shelter of the rocky wall overlooking the Colle delle Finestre in the municipality of Meana di Susa as a support structure for the other forts of the Piazzaforte di Fenestrelle and Assietta. Its secluded position completely protected it from view from the Val Chisone side and, at the same time, allowed its 2 retractable 57 mm Gruson guns to operate.
The fort was and is easily reachable by motorized transport via the Colle delle Finestre military road which connects it to the valley bottom and to the other forts in the area.

The fort was only used for a few years after its construction and, like all the forts in the area, it was deprived of its armament during the First World War as the cannons and machine guns were brought to the Italian eastern front. After the First World War the fort was no longer rearmed and in 1928 it was definitively decommissioned. The fort was not included within the fortifications of the Western Alpine Wall as it was too distant from the borders of the Kingdom and was therefore not even used in the Second World War.

It is currently in poor conservation conditions. The drawbridge and its forepart have disappeared and therefore the entrance takes place through breaches in the external wall. The corridor on the ground floor is free and the various rooms can be visited. On the contrary, the floor of the second floor was completely removed.

On the roof, which can be reached via a path on the side of the fort, you can still clearly see the two seats in which the cannons were housed through which you can access, via the underground tunnel in the rock, the body of the fort.

Services

Parking

View of the Colle delle Finestre Fort

The fort seen from the west

The coverage of the fort in 2022

Colle delle Finestre road - L. Castagneri

S. Molino

View of the Colle delle Finestre Fort The fort seen from the west The coverage of the fort in 2022 Colle delle Finestre road - L. Castagneri S. Molino