From Pinerolo a detour (15km/9mi southwest) can be made to the little town of Torre Pellice (516m/1,703ft), a popular summer resort prettily situated in the Pellice valley, a stronghold of the Waldensians, Protestants who fled from France during the Albigensian wars (1209-29) and sought refuge in the Piedmontese valleys on the east side of the
Cottian Alps, where they were able to maintain themselves in spite of frequent persecution. There are now some 25,000 Waldensians, most of them still French-speaking, in the Pellice valley and the lower Chisone valley. Beyond Pinerolo the road to Montgenèvre ascends the Chisone valley, towards the main chain of the Cottian Alps.