Map_of_Occitan_Valleys_-_Italy_-_according_to_Law_482-1999_declarations

The Occitan Valleys ( oc, Valadas Occitanas; it, Valli Occitane; pms, Valade Ossitan-e; french: Vallées Occitanes; frp, Valâdes Occitanes) are the part of

Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasse ...

(the territory of the

Occitan language Occitan (; oc, occitan, link=no ), also known as ''lenga d'òc'' (; french: langue d'oc) by its native speakers, and sometimes also referred to as ''Provençal'', is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Valle ...

) within the borders of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It is a mountainous region in the southern

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. Most of its valleys are oriented eastward and descend toward the plains of

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. The area has a population of inhabitants (July, 2013). Its major towns are Lo Borg Sant Dalmatz (Borgo San Dalmazzo), Buscha (Busca), Boves (Bueves) and Draonier (Dronero). The Occitan linguistic enclave of La Gàrdia (Guardia Piemontese) in

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

does not belong to the Occitan Valleys. A 1999 Italian law ("Law 482") provides for the protection of linguistic minorities, including Occitan.Loi du 15 décembre 1999, no 482 en italien et en français
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Communities with clear Occitan presence before the 482/99 Act

These are the villages where an autochthonous Provençal-speaking community has surely settled and may still speak the language. Around 35% of the population (stats by Enrico Allasino, IRES 2005 and IRES Piemonte no.113/2007) declared to be able to speak or understand the local Provençal language, with various levels of proficiency. Italian and Piedmontese are spoken by the majority of the people in the area, and the ''patois'' is much influenced by both the other two languages.

Communities whose patois community is extinct

In these communities, apart from Italian, the most widely spoken language is

Piedmontese Piedmontese (; autonym: or , in it, piemontese) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, northwestern region of Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly reg ...

. In the past, in the lower Val Chisone, Waldensian communities were the major part of the population. Chisone, Pellice and Germanasca Valleys were referred as "Waldensian Valleys" and the local Provençal speech was called "Waldesian language", and it was opposed to the language of the Catholic population which was Piedmontese. The Lower Chisone Valley in the 20th century had a rapid industrial growth, and since then the ''Waldensian'' was replaced by Piedmontese in the most bustled villages. In Oncino and Crissolo the local patois disappeared after a dramatic depopulation.

Communities claimed to be Occitan since the 482/99 Act

These are the communities which are referred as "Occitan" in the text of the 482/99 Act, and by the agency of linguistic safeguard ''Chambra d'Oc'', even if there was no previous source which supported this appellation. All these villages and towns lack the historical rootedness of the linguistic minority, because no linguist noticed any Occitan presence before the law. In these cases the Provençal translation of the place name doesn't exist, or it's an exonym used by the ''patoisants'' of the upper valleys to indicate the lower valley settlements, or it is the transliteration in Occitan orthography of the

/ Ligurian toponym.

References

{{coord missing, Italy Valleys of Italy . Valleys of the Alps Valleys of Piedmont Landforms of Liguria Metropolitan City of Turin Province of Cuneo Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Italy Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Piedmont

Communities with clear Occitan presence before the 482/99 Act

Communities whose patois community is extinct

Communities claimed to be Occitan since the 482/99 Act

See also

References