The "Cities and Countries of Art and History"

Since 1985, the Ministry of Culture, in partnership with local and regional authorities, has been responsible for implementing a policy of heritage development and awareness of architecture, in the form of the award of the label “City or Country of art and history”.

The label “Ville ou Pays d'art et d'histoire”, deposited at the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), qualifies territories, municipalities or groupings of municipalities that, Conscious of the stakes involved in the appropriation of their architecture and heritage by the inhabitants, they are committed to an active approach of knowledge, conservation, mediation and support and to the architectural quality and living environment. The term heritage must be understood in its broadest sense, since it concerns both the entire built heritage of the city, as well as the natural, industrial, maritime heritage and the memory of the inhabitants. It is therefore a matter of integrating into the process all the elements that contribute to the identity of a city or a country rich in its past and strong in its dynamism.

This voluntary approach is reflected in the signing of a “City of Art and History” or “Country of Art and History” convention, developed in close cooperation between the Ministry of Culture (Regional Directorates-General for Cultural Affairs and Heritage) and local and regional authorities. It sets out specific objectives and includes a financial component.

Les Cities and Countries of Art and History form a national network which allows the exchange of the most innovative experiences.

The brochure "Laissez-vous conter La Renaissance" is published by the DRAC on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the label Villes et pays d'art et d'histoire, created in 1985!
This anniversary is an opportunity for the VPAH network of the Centre-Val de Loire region to be part of the actions led by the Val de Loire Mission and all the cultural and tourist actors, around the commemoration of the coming to the throne of François I in 1515.

The brochure "Rendez-vous conter le Centre de villes en pays" (in interactive reading), published by the DRAC and produced with the assistance of the animators of architecture and heritage, proposes to highlight in a few pages, the richness and diversity of heritage of this network, knowing that the notion of heritage covers both the entire built heritage of the city as well as the natural, industrial, river heritage, as well as the memory of the inhabitants.

Heritage Facilitator Contact Information (Maj 07/2021)