Briançon, France
Briançon, France is a small historic fortified city located at the confluence of the Durance and Guisane rivers in the French Alps, near today's border between France and Italy. Much of Briançon dates to the 17th century. At an altitude of 1,326 metres (4,350 feet) it is the highest city in France. It is here Justinian Caire was born on December 3, 1827, the last of nine children who grew to adulthood of Jean Pierre Caire and María Anna Adelaide Arduin. It was here he was raised and educated. At the age of 18, Caire moved to nearby Genoa, Italy, 170 miles from Briançon, where he enrolled in a school of commerce. Five years later, in late 1850, Caire left France, sailing out of La Havre aboard Aurelie on a five-month voyage to San Francisco. On March 29, 1851, one hundred and fifty-two days later Justinian Caire arrived in San Francisco where he set up his first business.
19th Century photographs of Briançon, France, birthplace of Justinian Caire
