![Col de Clapier (by Edward Boenig) 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Col_de_Clapier_%28by_Edward_Boenig%29_02.jpg)
Col de Clapier (
French ''Col Clapier'' or ''Col de Savine'',
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
''Colle Clapier'') is a
mountain pass
A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...
over the mountain
massif
In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...
Mont Cenis
Mont Cenis ( it, Moncenisio) is a massif (el. 3,612 m / 11,850 ft at Pointe de Ronce) and a pass (el. 2,085 m / 6,840 ft) in Savoie (France), which forms the limit between the Cottian and Graian Alps.
Route
The term "Mont Cenis" cou ...
in the
Cottian Alps
The Cottian Alps (; french: Alpes Cottiennes ; it, Alpi Cozie ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Rai ...
and
Graian Alps
The Graian Alps (french: Alpes grées ; it, Alpi Graie ) are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps.
Etymology
The name ''Graie'' comes from the ''Graioceli'' Celtic tribe, which dwelled in the area surrounding the Mont Cenis pass and t ...
between
Savoy
Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps.
Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south.
Savo ...
in France and
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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in Italy. The
bridle path
A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider r ...
goes from
Bramans
Bramans is a former commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Val-Cenis.Susa
Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...
(503 m). There is no firm road.
Archaeology
The Col de Clapier is considered a possible route for
Hannibal
Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...
's famous passage through the Alps on his journey from the
Rhone (in French, ''Rhône'') river valley to Italy.
[''Hannibal's War: A Military History of the Second Punic War'', p. 46, John Francis Lazenby
University of Oklahoma Press, 1998]
From 2004 to 2008,
Patrick Hunt, a scholar from
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, has led numerous archaeological expeditions through the Col de Clapier to research the possibility and the likelihood of
Hannibal
Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...
using the pass to traverse the Alps with his army. Hunt's research has involved topographical surveys, soil and rock sampling, exploration of the Col de Clapier's various modern and historic routes, and comparisons of
Polybius
Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail.
Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
's and
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...
's accounts of Hannibal's passage to the regional and local geography. Se
''Hannibal in the Alps: Stanford Alpine Archaeology Project 1994-2006''
In 1959, it was the planned route of the
British Alpine Hannibal Expedition
The British Alpine Hannibal Expedition was an experimental archeology event that took place in 1959. British engineer John Hoyte led an expedition that tried to reenact aspects of Hannibal's legendary crossing of the Alps during the Second Punic ...
, but rockfall made the expedition backtrack and take their elephant into Susa via the
Col du Mont Cenis
, photo = Col du Mont Cenis.jpg
, photo_caption = Lake at the pass
, elevation_m = 2085
, elevation_ref =
, traversed = Route nationale 6
, map = Alps
, map_caption = Location of Col de Mont Cenis
, map_size =
, label = Col de Mont Cen ...
.
See also
*
List of highest paved roads in Europe
This is a list of the highest paved roads in Europe. It includes roads that are over long and whose culminating point is at least above sea level. This height approximately corresponds to that of the highest settlements in Europe and to the t ...
*
List of mountain passes
This is a list of mountain passes.
Africa
Egypt
* Halfaya Pass (near Libya)
Lesotho
* Moteng Pass
* Mahlasela pass
* Sani Pass
Morocco
* Tizi n'Tichka
South Africa
* Eastern Cape Passes
* Western Cape Passes
* Northern Cape Passes
* Kwa ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Map Bramans – Col de Clapier – Susa
Mountain passes of the Alps
Mountain passes of Piedmont
France–Italy border crossings
Mountain passes of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes