The Mario Fiore Barracks in Borgo San Dalmazzo were built between 1938 and 1940 as the logistics headquarters for the Third Sector of the Border Guard, as part of the strengthening of the Alpine defences along the border with France. Named after Major Mario Fiore, who was killed in action during the First World War, the barracks housed Alpine and artillery units during the conflict. After 1943, it was occupied alternately by German and partisan forces and, after the war, became a Recruit Training Centre, hosting thousands of young Alpine troops. In 1992, it served as the headquarters for the re-establishment of the 2nd Alpine Regiment, until the Saluzzo Battalion was transferred to Cuneo in 1997.
In 2015, the complex was transferred to the Municipality of Borgo San Dalmazzo; various uses were proposed, but it was not until 2023 that a concrete plan was finalised.
A multi-party agreement saw part of the site returned to the State and subsequently granted by the State to the Provincial Fire Brigade Command, which is establishing a dedicated training centre for its personnel.
The portion remaining under municipal ownership – covering an area of 19,000 square metres – has been designated as a public services area for the creation of the ‘Citadel for the Protection of the Maritime Alps’.
Before its redevelopment, the complex comprised buildings with a rational layout, organised around a large green space, featuring arcades, gabled roofs and spaces once used as stables, workshops, storerooms, a canteen, a cinema and training facilities. Over twenty years of disuse have led to significant deterioration of some structures, as evidenced by the photographs taken by Fabio Oggero to document the layout and condition of the original spaces before they were altered.
The planned project aims to combine historical memory with innovation, promoting the creation of an integrated inter-municipal centre dedicated to the protection of the local area and emergency management.
The Citadel boasts a strategic location and significance for a vast territory, for the urbanised urban context in which it is situated and, above all, for its geographical position, which places Borgo San Dalmazzo at the centre of a vast portion of the Maritime Alps, at the confluence of valleys leading to three international mountain passes.
This factor enables the creation of a centre that is unique in its kind – a focal point capable of bringing about a transformation in the qualitative and quantitative management of emergencies, with far-reaching regional significance.