History
In the Middle Ages, the town of Pinerolo was one of the main crossroads in Italy, and was therefore one of the principal fortresses of the dukes of Savoy. Its military importance was the origin of the well-known military school that still exists today. The fortress of Fenestrelle is nearby.
The earliest mention of Pinerolo is in the tenth century, when it belonged to the March of Turin and was governed by the abbot nullius of Pinerolo who ran the abbey of Abbadia Alpina, even after the city had established itself as a municipality (1247) under the government of Thomas Savoy.
From 1235, Amadeus IV of Savoy exercised over the town a kind of protectorate which became absolute in 1243, and was continued thereafter either by the house of Savoy, or of Savoy-Acaia.
When French troops invaded Piedmont (1536), Pinerolo was conquered and it remained under their control until 1574.
With the treaty of Cherasco it again fell to France (1631).
France agreed to hand back Pinerolo to the house of Savoy under the Treaty of Turin (1696) with the conditions that its stronghold's fortifications were demolished and that Savoy withdrew from the League of Augsburg against Louis XIV.
The 2011 Tour de France featured a stage in the area.
Read more about this topic: Pinerolo
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