La Brigue (; lij, Briga; oc, La Briga; it, Briga Marittima) 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, it ...
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
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 ...
.
La Brigue became part of France after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, when
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
was forced to hand it over in September 1947 under the terms of the Peace of Paris. Before the hand over, it was part of the
Province of Cuneo
Cuneo (Italian), or Coni (Piedmontese), is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ( departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Haut ...
and was officially known as Briga Marittima. The transfer, which was not unopposed in the village, was retrospectively endorsed by a local plebiscite which took place on 12 October 1947 and was subject to international supervision.
History
After World War II, France asked for the annexation of the territories of Tende and Brig, and obtained them according to the provisions of the Treaty of Paris signed on February 10, 1947, which entered into force on the following September 15.
However, due to the fact that the Constitution of the French Fourth Republic required that there be no territorial acquisitions without the consent of the populations concerned, the French authorities held a referendum with the population on October 12, so that they could choose between France and Italy, even though La Brigue was already under the military and administrative control of France since the entry into force of the peace treaty in September.
The prospect of a change of nationality divided the socialist family, in any case a minority in La Brigue. On the one hand, the Italian Socialist Party was in favor of annexation, while on the other, paradoxically, the charismatic leader of the French socialists Leon Blum was the most critical of this expansionist project. Either way, in the 1947 plebiscite on the issue, the Brigasks chose in favor of the transfer of sovereignty. Only citizens who resided in the area at the time of the referendum, with at least one parent born in the countries concerned or who could prove that they were domiciled there before the seizure of power by the fascists in Italy in 1922 were admitted for the vote. Part of the inhabitants who had taken refuge in Italy were thus excluded from the vote, since they had not changed their nationality to acquire French nationality. The result gave an almost unanimous support (96.07%) for France: out of 790 voters, 759 chose France and 26 Italy. There were five blank or unvalid ballots. When the data from the 1946 Constituent vote was compared with those from 1947 for the Treaty, it was concluded that the exiles would not have been able to reverse the outcome of the second vote. The outcome of this plebiscite was consistent with that of 1860 at the end of which the County of Nice had become French.
Sights
Looking across the village to the northwest, high rocky cliffs tower over La Brigue.Many of the buildings are of natural stone and many are nicely renovated with pastel facades and green lauze doorways and steps. The Shrine of Our Lady of the Fountains is the home to a huge 15th-century painting (cycle of passion) by the painter Giovanni Piemontese Canavesio, and is a major tourist destination.
Tourism
The village is situated along the long-distance hiking trail GR52A. Another attraction for mountain sports enthusiasts is a nearby
via ferrata
A via ferrata (Italian for "iron path", plural ''vie ferrate'' or in English ''via ferratas'') is a protected climbing route found in the Alps and certain other locations. The term "via ferrata" is used in most countries and languages except n ...
of medium difficulty (C/D) which ascends about 250 metres above the village.Via Ferrata of La Brigue: http://www.labrigue.fr/index.php?id=4563
Triora
Triora ( lij, Triöra) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about northwest of Imperia, on the border with France. As of 31 December 2004, it had a populati ...