Val Chisone

Val Chisone
Val Chisone from Grand Puy (Pragelato)
Location in the Piedmont region
Geography
Coordinates	45°0′N 7°8′E / 45.000°N 7.133°E / 45.000; 7.133Coordinates: 45°0′N 7°8′E / 45.000°N 7.133°E / 45.000; 7.133
Population centers	Pinerolo, Fenestrelle, Pragelato, Sestriere
Watercourses	Chisone

The Val Chisone is one of the Occitan valleys of western Piedmont, situated in the Cottian Alps of north-west Italy.

Traditionally, the valley's entrances are considered the towns of Pinerolo and Sestriere. It is bounded by the Val di Susa (to which it is connected by the Sestriere Pass, at 2,035 metres (6,677 ft)) to the north and east, the Val Sangone to the north, the Val Pellice to the south, while eastwards is the plain of the Po Valley.

The valley is crossed by the torrent from which it takes its name, the Chisone. The valley has a main branch, the Valle Germanasca, and a smaller branch in the area of Pragelato, Parco naturale Val Troncea, a nature park, an ideal destination for hikers, snowshoe hikers and cross-country skiers.

For centuries the Val Chisone was an object of contention between the Duchy of Savoy and the Kingdom of France. The upper valley (Val Pragelato) was part of the French Dauphiné, while the lower valley (Val Perosa) was under Savoyard control. In 1631, the right shore of the Val Perosa was ceded to Louis XIII of France, returning under Savoy by the Peace of Turin (1696).

The upper Val Chisone was part of the semi-independent French state of the Escartons Republic from 1343–1713. Pragelato was one of the five cantons. The Republic was annexed to Savoy in 1713.