Fort du Mont Alban

The Fort du Mont Alban is a military fortress. It was built between 1557 and 1560 on the hill of the same name between Nice and the Bay of Villefranche and is one of the few well-preserved examples of 16th-century military architecture in France.

History

In 1543, the Siege of Nice caused significant damage to the city's defense system. On the recommendation of Gian Maria Olgiati, the chief engineer of Charles V, Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy decided to strengthen the maritime border of the Savoyard states by constructing a new fortress between the fortresses of Villefranche (Citadel Saint-Elme) and Nice (Château de Nice). The project was entrusted to the architect-engineer Domenico Ponsello under the supervision of the Captain General of the Ducal Galleys, André Provana de Leyni. The cornerstone was laid on April 5, 1557. Ponsello built a bastioned fortress with a so-called star-shaped design to meet the new artillery techniques of the 16th century. André Provana de Leyni named it “Mont Alban” (likely in reference to the white color of the limestone on the site).

During the War of the League of Augsburg, the County of Nice was the scene of conflicts, and the fortress surrendered without a fight to the troops of Marshal Catinat on March 21, 1691. It remained occupied until 1696. The Treaty of Utrecht returned it to Savoy in 1715. During the War of the Austrian Succession, it faced a new offensive by the Franco-Spanish army. The fortress was evacuated on April 21, 1744. After several attempts, it was recaptured by the Piedmontese in February 1748. During the revolutionary offensive of 1792, it was again occupied by the French. In 1800, during the Second Italian Campaign, the besieged Republican garrison was able to send messages to their command on the other side of the Var River using an optical telegraph from the fortress. On May 28, 1800, it fired its last cannonball.

In August 1927, the fortress was once again surrounded by a massive fire that devastated all the hills of Nice. During World War II, it housed an Italian and later a German military radio station. On August 25, 1944, it was shelled by Allied naval forces without being hit. The above-ground structures damaged during this last conflict were demolished in 1948. In November 1958, a television relay was installed there, and on March 30, 1974, a new transmitter enabled the reception of a third public television channel. In 1976, the forest area of the fort was equipped with tables and benches made of larch wood. On June 20, 2006, new transmitters were inaugurated to enable the broadcast of digital terrestrial television. After being abandoned by the military authorities, it became the property of the Ministry of Culture, which, as part of decentralization, returned it to the city of Nice for a symbolic euro in May 2007, following the city's application for its transfer.

The fort was first opened to the public in 2010 on the occasion of Heritage Day and has been open for visits every summer since 2011. In 2013, it hosted for the first time an exclusive diorama recreating the equipment and life of the soldiers who may have occupied it at various times.

In 2019, it was used for the filming of the second season of the series Riviera, in which the character Georgina Clios organizes an art exhibition.

By FrancoisMignard — Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29391354