Mountain pass, Savoy Alps .
Situated southwest of the Italian border in southeastern France, it connects Bourg-St.-Maurice, France, with La Thuile, Italy. Hannibal probably led the Carthaginian army over the pass on his way toward Rome in 218 BC. It was the principal route across the Alps into Gallia Comata, a province of Gaul, until Montgenèvre Pass was opened in 77 BC. Beside the pass is a hospice founded in the 11th century by St. Bernard of Menthon.