Oulx ( oc, label= Occitan, Ors) is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' (municipality) in the

Metropolitan City of Turin The Metropolitan City of Turin ( it, Città metropolitana di Torino, Piedmontese: ''Sità metropolitan-a 'd Turin'') is a metropolitan city in the Piedmont region, Italy. Its capital is the city of Turin. It replaced the Province of Turin and ...

in the

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 ...

region

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, located about west of

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, in the

Susa Valley The Susa Valley ( it, Val di Susa; pms, Valsusa; french: Val de Suse; oc, Val d'Ors) is a valley in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont region of northern Italy, located between the Graian Alps in the north and the Cottian Alps in the so ...

on the border with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Names

Like many other towns in the Susa Valley, Oulx has different names reflecting the area's multiple linguistic traditions. One theory of the name's origin is that it derives from Ulkos, the name of a leader of the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

Salassi tribe.Note di toponomastica: Periodo Pre-Romano.
Accessed 25 September 2008. Another theory holds that the derivation is from Ultor, a title of the god

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

, to whom a temple in the area was dedicated. These names were first rendered as ''Ulces'', and later ''Ulcium'' on maps in the Middle Ages, in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

. From the older forms, the name became ''Olcs'' in the Occitan language and was later Francized as ''Oulx''. As part of Italian Fascist Italianization, Oulx was renamed Ulzio from 1928 to 1947. However, this form is considered etymologically incorrect, deriving from the Latin ''"Ultium"'' rather than ''"Ulcium."'' Evolucion del territòri d'Ors

Today, the municipality is called ''Oulx'' in

and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, ''Ours'' in the local Cisalpine Occitan (a

Vivaro-Alpine Vivaro-Alpine ( oc, vivaroalpenc, vivaroaupenc) is a variety of Occitan spoken in southeastern France (namely, around the Dauphiné area) and northwestern Italy (the Occitan Valleys of Piedmont and Liguria). There is also a small Vivaro-Alpine ...

subdialect; using an alternate orthography), ''Ors'' in standard Occitan (using classical orthography), and ''Ols'' in

Piedmontese Piedmontese (; autonym: or , in it, piemontese) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, northwestern region of Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly reg ...

as well as in the Cisalpine Occitan standard (using classical orthography).

Geography

There are three parts of the village of Oulx proper: Borgo Superiore (local oc, Viêrë), Borgo Inferiore (''Plan e Poyà'' or simply ''Ël Plan''), and Abadia (''Baîë''). In addition to Oulx proper, the municipality includes the ''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' (districts) of Amazas (local oc, Zamazá), Auberges (''Oouberja''), Beaulard (''Bioulâ''), Beaume (''Baoumë''), Chateau-Beaulard (''Chaté''), Clots (''Clos''), Constans (''Coutan''), Gad (''Ga''), Monfol (''Mounfol''), Pierremenaud (''Piarmenaou''), Puy (''Peui''), Royeres (''Rouliera''), San Marco (''Sa' Mar''), Savoulx (''Savou''), Signols (''Signoou''), Soubras (''Ël Soubrâ''), Vazon (''Lou Vazoun''), and Villard (''Viarâ'').Le frazioni / Lâ frazioun
at the official commune website. Accessed 25 September 2008. Oulx is served by

Oulx-Claviere-Sestriere railway station Oulx-Cesana-Claviere-Sestriere ( it, Stazione di Oulx, links=no) is a railway station in Oulx. The station is located on the Turin-Modane railway. The train services are operated by Trenitalia and SNCF. Train services The station is served by th ...

on the Turin-Modane railway.

Twin towns

Saint-Donat-sur-l'Herbasse Saint-Donat-sur-l'Herbasse (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Sant Donat'') is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. The writer and literary prizes winner Isabelle Hausser was born in Saint-Donat. Population Twin towns — sister cities ...

, France (1988)

Notable natives

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

ist

Joseph Chalier Joseph Chalier (1747 – 1793) was a French lawyer and revolutionary politician who was active in Lyon. Chalier was born in Beaulard, Susa Valley, Piedmont. As a young man, Chalier's family hoped he would take a career in the church. But instead ...

was born in the village of

Beaulard Beaulard is a frazione of the comune of Oulx, Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes ...

, now a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a '' comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate terri ...

'' of Oulx. Oulx was the birthplace of Luigi (Louis) Des Ambrois (1807–74), an Italian unification-era politician and jurist, who served as chairman of the Senate of the Kingdom ''(Senato del Regno)'' shortly before his death.

Sports

Giovanni Goccione Giovanni Enrico Goccione (???? – 6 December 1952) was an Italian footballer who played as midfielder. Career Goccione was an employee at the ''Società Assicurazioni Incendi'' in Turin. He played for Juventus for 11 seasons. Goccione played h ...

(?-1952), Italian footballer

References

External links

Official commune website

Oulx.org
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