Page 4 - Guida di Claviere e Montgenevre

At 7km from Cesana and 2km from Montgenèvre, Claviere (1,760m) is a picturesque moun-
tain village, which lies in a long flat valley of the Montgenèvre Pass. The surrounding scenery is
impressive: to the North Mt Chaberton, to the East, Rocca Clari; to the South Mt La Plane and in the
S-West, the international road of Montgenèvre, at the bottom of the French Mt Janus. Its enviable
geographical position, Claviere lies in the Via Lattea complex (400km skiable pistes) makes it a
renowned ski resort. Since ancient times the Monginevro Pass, one of the best ways for crossing
the Alps, was an important site for stops and transit routes which linked Arles to Milan.
Before Emperor Napoleon I built the mountain pass road, there used to be a mule-track. After
Charlemagne’s death and the fall of his empire in 879 A.D. these Alps and the adjacent mountain
territories were passed to the ‘Reign of Provence’ and later in 1030 the new state of Dauphinate
was created which made up part of the Reign of France. Following the concession of the Chart of
Freedom given by the Dauphin XII in 1343 the Republic of Escarton was formed in the Dauphin’s
territory and with the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), the lands of the Alta Valle Susa were given to
the Savoy. During the centuries the history of Claviere, was linked to malevolent episodes, or to
bad weather (landslides and floods) in 1783 and in 1789. The present settlement of the village
(between 1773 and 1780), dates back to just after the building of the Chapel (1770). By 1920 the
progressive spread of skiing and the recent bourgeois culture of competitions (the 1° International
Ski Competition was held in 1907 between Claviere and Montgenèvre) soon contributed to give a
new description of tourism and sport to this small border village. Among the pioneers of skiing introduction
who settled in Claviere, E. Santi has to be mentioned; a sportsman (with Mezzalama was the pro-
tagonist of the 1° Claviere-Bardonecchia crossing) and a well known excursionist, through the use
of his artistic photography, like few others, he was able to express refined and distressing images
of his contemplative passion for landscapes. In 1949 he was also the author of the ‘Handbook of
Skiing’ in which he went against the new skiing techniques which were, according to him, too
‘modern’.
After hosting the Italian Ski Championships, in 1926, Claviere became one of the most qualified
spots for winter sports. For this reason it was chosen as an Olympic training site during the 2006
Winter Olympic Games.

Claviere, rifugio sulle piste (Collezione privata).

In 1933 in a valuable small tourist book of the Valle di Susa one can read: ‘As a whole in Claviere
one can have a very elegant life, both in the summer and in the winter, but specially in this latter
season, since the village has become one of the most renowned winter sports resorts in Italy as
well as in Europe.’ A ‘very elegant’ life linked to the practice of the elite sport of golf which has
been popular in Claviere since 1929 with its 9-hole golf course (2,428m), well structured on the
rough green ground. During the II World War Claviere experienced disastrous military actions, that
completely destroyed this small village by shellfire and did not spare the church (re-built in 1949).
An underground crypt was built in 1968 (sculptor L. Colli). Inside the church in addition to the
works of the painters M. Baretta and G. Cena is also to be mentioned the plaster cast sculpture of
the ‘Madonna’.
All the services and tourist facilities available make a stay in Claviere not only comfortable in re-
gards to hotel and accommodation, but can also satisfy the many requests of high profile tourism.
In addition to the golf course and 2 ski schools, one can find a cross country skiing track, alpine
skiing, artificial snow system, and a sports centre (swimming pool, football, volley ball, tennis).