Tende (; Italian, Occitan and

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 ...

: ''Tenda'') is a commune 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 ...

Geography

Tende is located within Mercantour National Park in the French Alps. The mountainous commune is bordered by

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 ...

to the north, with the boundary determined by the

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

line between the two countries. This line of mountain tops contains more than 20 summits exceeding . A large rectangle of land running east/west, Tende is split from north to south by the Roya river valley. The tributary Réfréi river joins the Roya within the limits of Tende. The Col de Tende (Tende Pass), a strategic pass through the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

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

, has been modernized to be a road and railway tunnel.

History

Known to be a populated place in 690, it is unclear when Tende first became an organized settlement. Prehistoric rock engravings have been found in the area, which are now on display in the Musée des Merveilles or ''in situ''. Tende is a medieval village of tumultuous history, having belonged successively to the Count of Ventimiglia in the tenth century, then the Counts of

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bo ...

and the Counts of Lascaris of Ventimiglia before being swapped several times between Italy and France. First to the Savoyard state, then 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 ...

(later the Napoleonic Empire), then restored to the Savoyard Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont (which became in 1861 the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

). From 1861 to 1947 Tende was part of Italy, and was damaged during the Italian invasion of France in 1940. Tende was the last commune to join the French Republic in 1947, which was endorsed by a local referendum, when

was forced to cede (after defeat in

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

) some alpine areas to France. The hillside village is overlooked by the spire-like remnants of the main turret of the castle of the Lascaris, which was built in the 14th century as protection from the attacking Count of Provence,

Charles d'Anjou Charles of Anjou (count, 1246–1285) was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. Charles of Anjou may also refer to: *Charles II of Anjou (count, 1285–1290), also king of Naples * Charles III of Anjou (count, 1290–1325), also count of Valois *Charle ...

. The castle was destroyed in 1692 when King

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

ordered his Marshal,

Catinat Nicolas Catinat (, 1 September 1637 – 22 February 1712) was a French military commander and Marshal of France under Louis XIV. The son of a magistrate, Catinat was born in Paris on 1 September 1637. He entered the Gardes Françaises at an ...

, to destroy all fortified structures in France that might challenge his rule. The only complete structure that remains is a circular tower, transformed into a clock during the 19th century.Tende Office de Tourisme, "Tende, a Short Historical Tour" - pamphlet for self-guided walking tour The tolling of the clock's bells can be heard day and night throughout Tende. Tende is located on what was once an important route of the salt trade between Italy and France. During their reign of Tende, the Lascaris would demand a toll of those transporting salt and others passing through the region.

Population

Culture

While the main language of Tende is French, most of Tende's residents also speak Tendasque (which can also refer to the villagers themselves), a variety of the Ligurian language with Provençal influences. The Tendasque dialect has many similarities with the

Mentonasque Mentonasc (; Mentonasco in Italian, Mentonnais or Mentonasque in French) is a Romance dialect historically spoken in and around Menton, France. It is classified as a dialect of Occitan and a sub-dialect of Vivaro-Alpine, with some strong inf ...

of the coast. Contea di Nizza

Among the village's youth, Tendasque is less prevalent (about 30%), while many of them can speak Italian. The village recently began celebrating a series of festivals during the summer, each dedicated to an aspect of local culture. One such festival celebrates the Old Tende (the medieval section), and on the second Sunday of each July, a long-standing festival is held in honor of Saint Eloi, patron saint of the village. ''Sugelli'', a distinctive pasta with a thumb print indentation is a local specialty. At the base of the hillside town is a public swimming pool, built around the turn of the millennium. A

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 ...

along the tops of the village's mountains attracts climbers. The trail head can be accessed from near the base of the town clock.

Economy

* Three hydroelectric power stations * Breeding of cows and sheep * Cheeses, honey and jams * Old crystal mine

Transportation

Tende has a railway station on the

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...

/ Ventimiglia-

Breil-sur-Roya Breil-sur-Roya (, literally ''Breil on Roya''; it, Breglio sul Roia or simply ''Breglio''; lij, Breggio; oc, Brelh de Ròia) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Population Geography Breil-sur-Roya as it ...

Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in ...

line run by the

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffic ...

, with connecting service from Ventimiglia/Nice in the southwest to

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 ...

to the north. Train services are mostly operated by

Trenitalia Trenitalia is the primary train operator in Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government, the company was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulation of rail transp ...

. The

Train des Merveilles In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

, makes a three daily runs from Nice to Tende. Taking the 8.30am train from Nice (arriving at 10.56am) and returning on the 2.45pm train will give you about three and half good hours for exploration. The train journey itself gives magnificent views of old french towns in mountain valleys.

Twin towns — sister cities

Tende is twinned with: * Narzole, Italy (1992)