The Story of Limone

From a place of passage for mule tracks to a glamorous pearl of the Maritime Alps

Limone Piemonte is the main inhabited center of Vermenagna valley: located at an altitude of 1.000m a.s.l. in the Maritime Alps, a few steps from the border with France, it has a population of about 1.500 inhabitants. Its recent history is intimately connected with tourism: since the early twentieth century it has developed a real vocation for hospitality, in winter thanks to the presence of a prominent ski area but also in summer thanks to the numerous hiking opportunities in the surroundings.

Today, also thanks to the shrewd interventions that the Municipality has carried out for the urban redevelopment of the historic center and the creation of digital infrastructures that make it one of the first smart locations in the entire Italian Alps, Limone Piemonte has consolidated its nature as a tourist resort open "all-year-round". It is part of the Alpine Pearls circuit, consisting of nineteen locations in five countries of the Alpine arc that are committed to promoting environmentally friendly holidays and innovative mobility solutions to protect the environment.

The origin of the name

Stemma comune di limone piemonte

Although a lemon stands out in the municipal coat of arms, the origin of the name has nothing to do with citrus, which is born and thrives at decidedly different altitudes. However, the etymology is still debated: for some historians it would derive from "li mount", a Provençal expression with which mountains are defined; according to others it could even derive from the ancient Greek “leimon” with the meaning of a place rich in grazing herbs.

In any case, the municipal coat of arms has been in use since 1614: in those years it was reproduced on the fountain next to the church of San Pietro in Vincoli, where it is still visible today. In an ancient manuscript it is possible to read that before the seventeenth century the municipal coat of arms was "a complex of three mountains including a tower surmounted by a cross.

The ancient history of Limone Piemonte

The territory where the town stands was certainly inhabited since Roman times, but the toponym of Limone Piemonte is mentioned for the first time only in 1198: in the following hundred years it passed from being a free municipality under the dominion of the Angevins, to then enter be part of the County of Tenda, a small independent state located between Savoy, the Republic of Genoa and the County of Nice. Starting from 1581 it was annexed to the Savoy Duchy.

Colle di Tenda - Val Roya

The influence of the Colle di Tenda pass

Limone Piemonte developed along one of the main historical communication routes between Piedmont, the Ligurian Riviera and the French Riviera: the ancient pass of Monte Cornio, "Mountain of the two Riviere" known today as Colle di Tenda, was frequented since ancient times as a trade route, thanks to the relative simplicity of its crossing.

The frequentation of this area at least since Roman times is evidenced by the remains of a road of the time, visible near the hamlet of Limonetto, while the first historical document that mentions the pass is dated to 1178. It was one of the routes along which salt was transported, a real "white gold" of antiquity which has given rise, today, to one of the main tourist attractions of the locality, the spectacular "Alta Via del Sale" Limone-Monesi, a dirt track mainly for cycling but also suitable for pedestrians and motor vehicles, open seasonally.

Traforo del Colle di Tenda

The works for the Colle di Tenda tunnel

The works to improve the transit conditions on Colle di Tenda, making it safer and more profitable, began with the annexation of the territory of Limone Piemonte to the Duchy of Savoy: at the end of the sixteenth century, the engineers of Duke Carlo Emanuele I began to work for to facilitate the transit of goods on the hill, studying a tunnel that was not built until the end of the nineteenth century.

The road tunnel was built in 1882, followed in 1900 by the railway one serving the Cuneo-Ventimiglia-Nice line, considered one of the most spectacular railways in the world and which in 2020 was awarded the FAI's "Place of the Heart" - Italian Environment Fund. Of the railway line, its construction audacity is striking: on a total distance of about 90km it manages to rise from sea level to over 1,000m with engineering solutions that are still spectacular, such as 33 tunnels, some of which are helical, and 27 bridges.

The role of the railway in the development of Limone Piemonte

The railway connection to Cuneo and Turin, inaugurated in 1891, made Limone Piemonte easily reachable and the destination of the nascent summer “holidays”, thanks to its mild alpine climate which benefits from the proximity of the sea.

With the opening of the railway tunnel and the extension of the line up to Nice from 1928, Limone Piemonte consolidated its notoriety even at an international level and saw the arrival of French and Monaco tourists who still visit the locality with satisfaction today. These were the years in which winter sports tourism began to develop in Limone, an element that soon became a driving force for the local economy. In recent decades, the decline in railway traffic has made the future of the line uncertain, which has seen the development of spontaneous committees for its protection.

Today, with road connections still compromised for an unspecified period, the railway can be relaunched as a means of direct connection between the Vermenagna valley and the Roya valley, between Italy and France.

Fortificazioni militari Limone Piemonte

The military fortifications

The town is surrounded by a series of mighty military buildings, built at the end of the nineteenth century by the Savoy to fortify the border with France.

Today they are all located in French territory due to the displacement of the border line after the Second World War, but they represent a spectacular destination for summer excursions, on foot or by mountain bike.