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Pragelato

Pragelato
Comune
Comune di Pragelato
Parish church.
Parish church.
Coat of arms of Pragelato
Coat of arms
Pragelato is located in Italy
Pragelato
Pragelato
Location of Pragelato in Italy
Coordinates: 45°1′N 6°57′E / 45.017°N 6.950°E / 45.017; 6.950
Country Italy
Region Piedmont
Province / Metropolitan city Turin (TO)
Frazioni La Ruà, Allevè, Chezal, Duc, Grand Puy, Granges, Jousseaud, Laval, Pattemouche, Plan, Rif, Rivets, Seytes, Troncea, Souchéres Basses, Souchère Haute, Traverses, Villardamond, Val Tronche, Tronchée
Government
 • Mayor Federico Laurent
Area
 • Total 89.6 km2 (34.6 sq mi)
Elevation 1,518 m (4,980 ft)
Population (31 December 2010)
 • Total 809
 • Density 9.0/km2 (23/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Pragelatesi
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 10060
Dialing code 0122
Website Official website

Pragelato (also Pragelà) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Turin, in the upper Val Chisone. The name Pragelato, meaning "icy meadow", has been derived from the harsh climate and the fact that the ground is covered with ice for long periods. On both sides of the Chisone, extensive forests of pine and larch provide protection from the avalanches which are a common occurrence in the winter season: for this reason in the nineteenth century the people of Pragelato were only permitted to fell trees close to the mountain summits, and even then only with the permission of the communal administration.

Pragelato borders the following municipalities: Exilles, Oulx, Salbertrand, Usseaux, Fenestrelle, Sauze d'Oulx, Massello, Sestriere, Sauze di Cesana, Salza di Pinerolo, Prali.

Pragelato was part of the Escartons Republic, a semi-independent French state which lasted from 1343 to 1713. After the Treaty of Utrecht of the latter, it became a possession of the House of Savoy.

In 1747 the nearby Assietta Pass was the stage of the eponymous battle. During the 19th and 20th century, much of the population emigrated to France.

On April 19, 1904 an avalanche struck the miners barracks of the Beth copper mine in the nearby Troncea valley, killing 81 people. A memorial plaque in the small cemetery of the Laval hamlet remembers the victims of the avalanche.


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