Saorge (;

Royasc Royasc is a dialect bridging the gap between the Ligurian language and the Occitan language. It is spoken in Italy and France. Area of use The Royasc dialect is spoken in the Upper Roya valley, at the boundary of France and Italy. In Franc ...

: ''Sauèrge'';

Brigasc Brigasc is a dialect of the Ligurian language. It is spoken in Italy and France. Area of use The Brigasc dialect is spoken in La Brigue (France) and Briga Alta (Italy) and some villages of the communes of Ormea and Triora. It is very clos ...

: ''Savurgë''; it, Saorgio, oc, Saorj, lij, Savurgiu) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, ...

department in southeastern

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 ...

. Highway E74 which runs north from

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

, passes through Saorge on its way to the Col de Tende ( it, Colle di Tenda) where it crosses into Italy. The region belonged to the old

County of Nice The County of Nice (french: Comté de Nice / Pays Niçois, it, Contea di Nizza/Paese Nizzardo, Niçard oc, Contèa de Niça/País Niçard) is a historical region of France located around the southeastern city of Nice and roughly equivalent t ...

. Beginning in 1388 Saorge was part of Sardinia-Piedmont. In June 1793, Sardinia defeated the armies of the

First French Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...

in the First Battle of Saorgio. In the Second Battle of Saorgio in April 1794 the French wrested the town from the Piedmontese. The town was returned to Sardinia-Piedmont after the overthrow of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

and finally ceded to France in 1860. The local spoken

regiolect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that ...

is a form of the

dialect.

From the French Revolution to the First Empire

In 1792 the announcement of the presence of French revolutionary troops at

Saint-Laurent-du-Var Saint-Laurent-du-Var (; Occitan: ''Sant Laurenç de Var'', Italian: ''San Lorenzo del Varo'') is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera. History The town was founded in the ...

caused a panic in Nice. The administration of the County of Nice along with several branches of the government fled from Nice to take shelter in Saorge on 18 September. At the same time, the Sardinian troops departed Nice without fighting the French. Militia from Saorge and Fontan were recruited to fight the invading French troops. To access Saorge from the valley of the

Vésubie The Vésubie is a river in the southeast of France. It is a left tributary of the Var in the Maritime Alps. It is long. Its drainage basin is .

Ruas, one must cross the pass at the Massif de l'Authion and travel down the valley of Cayros (or Cairos). Two

representatives on mission Representative may refer to: Politics *Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people *House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities *Legislator, someon ...

asked the General

Gaspard Jean-Baptiste Brunet Gaspard Jean-Baptiste Brunet (14 June 1734 – 15 November 1793) commanded the French '' Army of Italy'' during the French Revolutionary Wars and was executed during the Reign of Terror. Despite this fate his son Jean Baptiste Brunet also became a ...

to launch an attack against the Austro-Sardinian troops commanded by General

Charles-François Thaon, Count of Saint-André Charles-François Thaon de Revel et de Saint-André (28 February 1725 – 14 December 1807) was an army commander for the Kingdom of Sardinia during the War of the First Coalition. He fought in the War of the Austrian Succession and during the year ...

in June and July 1793. The French troops were inexperienced and suffered the loss of 3,200 men. Brunet was later sentenced to death and executed.

Transportation

The Nice to Cuneo rail line of the SNCF passes through Saorge as does the D62044(France)/S520 (Italy) scenic highway from Ventimiglia.

From the French Revolution to the First Empire

Transportation

Population

See also