Already existed in 1155, in 1339 already has a complex structure, a rare example of a “street castle”, useful to control the fundamental axis of road that from Piedmont brought in Provence through the Monginevro. In the Sixteenth Century the castle is long disputed by the opposing factions Catholic and reformed that ambitionnaient control Delfinato beyond the Alps. At the beginning of the Seventeenth Century the strong changed its attitude of the old castle in fortress with bastions, where he hosted, between 1681 and 1687, the mysterious character named “Iron Mask”.
In the early years of the eighteenth century, the fortress of Exilles, under the direction of Bertola and De Willencourt, undergoes extensive renovation and modernization, between which the tilting of the defensive front facing France. New transformations are implemented at half ‘700: The Fort was rebuilt by operating a synthesis between defensive positions and logistics. The Treaty of Utrecht of 1713, that moved the royal dignity from the king of France to the House of Savoia, made necessary the overturning of the defensive front. The fort was finally disarmed in 1915 and permanently lost every military function in 1943 when it was finally abandoned by the military.
In 1978 the Piedmont Region has purchased the strong, committed to providing for the restoration and functional recovery of the monument. Is then developed and launched the project of restoration, internal and external, finalized to the definition of an overall attitude of the strong. The Exilles Fort was opened to the public on 8 July 2000, to its inside are visitable two museum areas, characterized by allestimenti particularly innovative. In the summer it is richly used for musical and cultural events of various kinds.
Opening period: Summer.