Label Maisons des Illustres
Launched in 2011, the label "Maison des Illustres" now includes 208 buildings throughout France.
In Burgundy-Franche-Comté, 18 houses value the work of personalities linked to political, artistic or scientific history.
By creating the Maisons des Illustres label, the Ministry of Culture wishes to ensure the transmission of intellectual, moral and civic values embodied by men and women who have distinguished themselves in social and cultural history.
These places of memory connect local history with national history, the intimate and the collective. They show how the heritage is alive, animated by a "spirit of places and times", how it is nourished by the personality and sensitivity of those who have left their mark on it. All fields can be concerned: political, religious, scientific and artistic...
The label Houses of the Illustrious is awarded for a period of five years following a procedure conducted by the Regional Directorates for Cultural Affairs and a national committee chaired by the Directorate-General for Heritage. Each site must meet a certain number of conditions, among which the opening to visitors more than 40 days a year and the pursuit of a goal that is not essentially commercial. The venue must offer a cultural program of excellence suitable for all audiences, including school audiences and persons with disabilities.
The network of Houses of the Illustrious is complementary to other policies initiated by the Ministry of Culture: Musée de France, VPAH, Jardins Remarquables ...
Its particularity and richness are to bring together very diverse structures: associations, communities, private owners, large cultural institutions...