Batteria La Court, Mountain fortification in Val-Cenis, Italy
Batteria La Court is a mountain fortification built on a rocky ridge at about 2090 meters elevation on the southeastern edge of the Mont Cenis plateau. The concrete structure contained two floors, with troop quarters and technical rooms below and ammunition storage above.
The fortification was built between 1905 and 1910 to protect the Susa Valley from potential French attacks. German forces destroyed it in 1945 near the end of World War II.
The fortification shows how Italy built mountain defenses in the early 1900s to protect the Alps. You can still see the military construction methods in what remains today.
This high-altitude site is accessible only on foot via steep mountain paths, so good physical fitness is needed. Weather can change rapidly up here, so visitors should be ready for sudden shifts and limited visibility.
Four gun positions featured rotating cast iron domes that protected the defensive weapons and allowed full 360-degree coverage of the surrounding terrain. This rotating design was an advanced engineering solution for its time.
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