Les secrets d’une frontière, à Modane et dans les Alpes franco-italiennes, de 1860 à nos jours. Traces, patrimoines et mémoires

Abstract

Most of the initiatives involved in interpreting and promoting the natural and cultural heritage of the Alps tend to emphasise a certain concept of tradition: Alpine chalets and pretty scenery. This context makes it difficult to identify other forms of heritage associated with borders and with patterns of migration and to introduce these into the dominant representations of the Alps. Based on studies of the tangible and intangible heritage in a particular sector the Franco-Italian Alps (Maurienne, Val de Susa and the Briançon region), this article tries to reach a better understanding of the dialectical dimension of the border—openings v. closings, central power v. peripheral powers, norms v. customs—from 1860 to the present day. Along the way, it will look at how national memory is articulated with, or clashes with, other narratives generated in territories where authentic border cultures also exist with a long experience of welcoming migrant populations

Keywords

• Italy
• border
• Alps
• memories
• collective mobilisation
• migrant populations