Villages and living stones
In the Hautes-Alpes, every village is an open book. Cobbled streets,
Tradition in the present
Transhumance festivals, pilgrimages, autumn fairs such as the old fruit fair in Orpierre: customs still set the pace for community life. These intangible traditions, the fruit of centuries of adaptation to the mountains, remain as vital as ever. They are a reminder that heritage is not only preserved in museums: it is lived, danced, heard in street music, shared around a moving herd.
Ancestral know-how
Queyras wood carvings, hand-woven fabrics, instruments fashioned in small workshops… these are all skills passed down from generation to generation, embodying the memory of the region. These fragile but precious skills are an integral part of the intangible heritage of the Hautes-Alpes. Every object created, every tool repaired is a bridge between past and future.
A deep-rooted , living culture
The mountains also inspire the arts. Music festivals, mountain cinema, exhibitions in the citadels: Alpine culture is in constant dialogue with its landscapes. The Hautes-Alpes is a land where the arts, both ancient and contemporary, can find a place to express themselves.
The mountain spirit, a thousand-year-old thread
Beyond the stones, festivities and objects, it’s a state of mind that endures: one of solidarity, sharing and simplicity. This mountain spirit, forged by centuries of living at altitude, is perhaps the most precious of heritages. Whether tangible or intangible, built or sung, it forms a thousand-year-old thread that links the people of yesterday to those of today – and gives the Hautes-Alpes its unique soul.
