|
Without a doubt, it would be Bonaparte, soon to become Napoleon I, grand captain in a valley with a proud military history, but also Napoleon the builder and the man who initiated the Imperial Road Number 6, that of the Mont Cenis (1803-1805).
Back home from his first campaign in Italy, during which he struggled to cross the Mont Cenis mountain pass, over rocky paths and transporting his cannons, Napoleon dreamed of facilitating transalpine communication routes. He organised the construction of the first road suitable for motor vehicles, with long and regular ramps and wide curves and a hospice and barracks at the mountain pass. “ A treasure that will last for centuries, ” he declared in exile in St Helena. One could even say, an imperial trace... Development continued to take place throughout the entire valley in subsequent years, much to the delight of the innkeepers and coach houses which later lined the new « Napoleonic Road » (« la Route Napoléon »).
Illustration : Napoléon Bonaparte, premier consul. Huile sur toile, baron Gérard François Pascal Simon, 1803. Musée de Condé, Chantilly. © RMN/ Harry Bréjat.
|
