in Val Pellice

The culture of the Waldensian valleys was of course marked by the lively history of events which were the theatre of.

A small Protestant island in the Occitan Alps, they have lived all the experiences of European culture of the modern age. Linguistically part of Occitan, which goes, for the Italian side, from the high Susa Valley to Maritime Alps, they were charatterized by the use of the French language.

All that for political reasons: Piedmont has gravitated for centuries in the French cultural orbit and Val Chisone was part of the Kingdom of France. For religious reasons: in order to survive, the Protestants of Piedmont had to connect with Geneva and the Huguenot churches of France.

A second characteristic feature of the Waldensian was schooling.

In the Protestant communities, the school has been always essential; underlining a personal responsibility on reading biblical texts, the believers were therefore pushed to develop education.

The school system managed by the Waldensian Church was very well developed: from the "little school" in every hamlet, to the school in the town, until the Latin schools (current middle schools) and College (Lyceum-high school).

This education program led, at the end of ‘800, the Waldensian area to one of the highest literacy rate of all Europe.

Thanks to the intervention of friends and foreign benefactors (two Englishmen in particular: Charles Beckwith and William Stephen Gilly), it was possible to realize a so well structured education. In addition, environmental factors helped to achieve these objectives; it is known that the Alpine populations have always stood out for their deep interest on cultural issues, with high literacy rates.

Many tourists and travelers, also for the French language usage and the connection with European countries, were attracted by religious minority, visited the region and wrote interesting travel tales, which contribute on giving to the Waldensian valleys that particular international character maintained over time.

Reduced because of the Fascism, the European contacts restarted after the war thanks to the Agape Work, in the nearby Val Germanasca, the ecumenical youth center built by volunteers in Prali and still a meeting and seminars place of European fame.

This influx of people from different countries made the Waldensian valleys, and so the Val Pellice, a destination for vacation, developing their tourist vocation, made even stronger for the easy access and the proximity to the city of Turin.

Up to the 50s, this kind of tourism was summertime essentially in guesthouses or rental homes. After a period of second houses construction, nowadays it is oriented on modern tourism model with natural and environmental sensitivity.

The Val Pellice is full of cultural activities, from theater to music, from fine arts to historical studies, a tradition that has its roots in nineteenth century associationism.