Saorge

Saorge (French: [saɔʁʒ]; Royasc: Sauèrge; Brigasc: Savurgë; standard Ligurian: Savurgiu; Italian: Saorgio; Occitan: Saorj) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. It is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association. Highway E74 which runs north from Menton, passes through Saorge on its way to the Col de Tende (Italian: Colle di Tenda) where it crosses into Italy. The region belonged to the old County of Nice. Beginning in 1388 Saorge was part of Sardinia-Piedmont. In June 1793, Sardinia defeated the armies of the First French Republic in the First Battle of Saorgio. In the Second Battle of Saorgio in April 1794 the French wrested the town from the Piedmontese. The town was returned to Sardinia-Piedmont after the overthrow of Napoleon Bonaparte and finally ceded to France in 1860. The local spoken regiolect is a form of the Royasc dialect.