{{Short description|Cultural region in the Western Alps}}
{{Infobox settlement | name = Arpitania | native_name = {{lang|frp|Arpitania}} | native_name_lang = frp | settlement_type = Cultural region | image_skyline = French and Arpitan sign in Saint-Gingolph (Switzerland).jpg | image_alt= | image_caption = French sign "Welcome" with Arpitan "Hello" in Saint-Gingolph (Valais) | image_flag = Drapeau arpitan.svg | flag_alt = | image_seal = | seal_alt = | image_shield = | shield_alt = | nickname = | motto = | image_map = Arpitan francoprovencal map.jpg | map_alt = | map_caption = Linguistic map of Arpitania in Arpitan | pushpin_map = | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates = {{coord|46|09|N|5|52|E|scale:1000000|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Continent | subdivision_name = Europe | unit_pref = Metric | area_total_km2 = 60000 | elevation_m = | population_as_of = | population_footnotes = | population_total = 7600000 | population_density_km2 = auto | population_note = | population_demonym = | timezone1 = | utc_offset1 = | timezone1_DST = | utc_offset1_DST = | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> }}
'''Arpitania''' (Arpitan and Italian: ''Arpitania'', {{langx|fr|Arpitanie}} {{IPA|fr|aʁpitani||Fr-Arpitanie.ogg}}) is a cultural region in Western Alps where the Arpitan language was historically spoken and still persists today. It approximately encompasses parts of eastern France, northwestern Italy and western Switzerland, concretely:<ref name=":0">{{Cite thesis |last=Bichurina |first=Natalia |title=Trans-border communities in Europe and the emergence of “new” languages : From “Francoprovençal patois” to “Arpitan” and “Arpitania” |date=2016-09-02 |degree=phdthesis |publisher=Université de Perpignan ; Università degli studi di Bergamo (Italie) |url=https://theses.hal.science/tel-01368201 |language=en |page=14}}</ref>
* France (Ain, Isère, Rhône, Savoie, Haute-Savoie, the Metropolis of Lyon, and parts of Jura).
* Switzerland (Geneva, Fribourg, Neuchâtel, Valais, and Vaud, i.e. all of Romandy except Jura) * Italy (Aosta Valley and Arpitan Valleys)
Even though Arpitania has never been constituted as a united political entity, it roughly corresponds to the historical County of Savoy and its successor state the Duchy of Savoy. Currently, the only Arpitan-speaking region which formally recognises the language is the Aosta Valley, where it is protected.<ref name="vda">{{citation |title=Statut spécial de la Vallée d'Aoste, Title VIe |url=http://www.regione.vda.it/allegato.aspx?pk=34495 |access-date=2015-10-17 |publisher=Region Vallée d'Aoste}}</ref><ref>[http://www.consiglio.regione.vda.it/fr/app/leggieregolamenti/dettaglio?pk_lr=3141&versione=V "Conseil de la Vallée - Loi régionale 1er août 2005, n. 18 - Texte en vigueur"]. Retrieved 25 April 2020</ref>
Over 7,600,000 people live in Arpitania, but only around 150,000 speakers of Arpitan live here.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-01 |title=Savoy and Aosta - Eurominority.eu |url=https://www.eurominority.eu/index.php/en/savoy-and-aosta/,%20https://www.eurominority.eu/index.php/en/savoy-and-aosta/ |access-date=2026-03-05 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last= |title=Arpitan |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/frp/ |access-date=2026-03-04 |website=Ethnologue}}</ref> French is the most-spoken language in Arpitania, followed by Italian. The most populous cities in Arpitania are Lyon, Geneva, and Saint-Étienne. == Creation == {{Unbalanced|date=March 2026}} The terms ''Arpitan'' and ''Arpitania'' (''Arpitanie'') are neologisms coined in the 1970s by '''Joseph Henriet''' (born 1945), a Communist school teacher who was influenced by the Basque activist Federico Krutwig. In his ''Garaldea'' (published 1978), Krutwig names the Basques "Garalditans", a purported Neolithic race which he claimed existed thousands of years ago. Looking for racial or linguistic remnants of the "Garalditans", he moved to the Aosta Valley in 1970, constructing Basque etymologies for local placenames.
In Aosta, Krutwig befriended the young Maoist activist Joseph Henriet. Influenced by Krutwig, Henriet declared the local patois the descendant of the Neolithic "Garalditan language". He later replaced the term ''garalditan'' with ''harpitan'', a conflation of the patois words ''arpa'' "alp", ''arpian'' "one who works on an alp", and the Basque etymology Basque ''harri-pe'' "under the rocks" proposed by Krutwig.
Around 1980, Henriet dropped the Basque-inspired initial ''h-'', now proposing an "Arpitan confederation" (''Confédération arpitane'') uniting Savoy and the Valais (but not including the patois-speaking Vaud). With the failure of his Arpitan political movement, he retired to private life.
The term ''arpitan'' since the 1990s has found usage beyond the immediate sphere of Henriet's activities, especially driven by online use. Pichard (2009) suggests its newfound success was due to the happy rhyme with ''Occitan'' and the unwieldiness of the alternative ''francoprovençal''. The alternative term ''patois'', while viewed with affection in Switzerland, has a condescending or "humiliating" connotation in France. An ''Aliance Culturèla Arpitanna'' was founded in 2004.<ref>Gianpaolo Charrere, [https://archive.today/20120719124257/http://edizioni.lastampa.it/aosta/articolo/lstp/631 Ayas, un film sul sogno dell'Harpitanya], Aoste: La Stampa, 15 February 2012 and [http://arpitania.forumactif.com/CAFE-ARPITAN-c1/L-euroregion-Arpitanie-f1/La-nation-Arpitane-J-Harriet-1974-t581.htm "La nation arpitane"].
Alain Pichard, [http://blog.regionleman.com/public/Arpitanie/Histoire_Arpitanie_24heures.pdf Nos ancêtres les Arpitans] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715171257/http://blog.regionleman.com/public/Arpitanie/Histoire_Arpitanie_24heures.pdf |date=2011-07-15 }}, 24 Heures, Lausanne, 2 May 2009</ref>
== Geography == [[File:Arpitancommunity.png|alt=Map of Arpitania in Western Europe|thumb|Map of Arpitania in Western Europe]]The geographic extent of Arpitania, usually defined by linguistic or cultural factors, is dispersed over three countries.<ref name=":0" />
* Most of Arpitania lies in France, in the departments of Ain, Isère, Rhône, Savoie, and Haute-Savoie, as well as the Metropolis of Lyon. Besides, the southern part of the department of Jura is Arpitan-speaking.
* Almost the entire French-speaking part of Switzerland, also known as Romandy, lies in Arpitania except for the canton of Jura. The Arpitan cantons are Geneva, Fribourg, Neuchâtel, Valais, and Vaud. * The remaining part of Arpitania lies in Italy, covering the entire Aosta Valley and the Arpitan Valleys in the Piedmont region. In Apulia, an Arpitan language exclave exists, but it is not connected sociolinguistically to Arpitania.
=== Historical regions === Traditionally, Arpitania is divided into the following regions.
* 16px|Coat of Arms of the Aosta Valley Aosta Valley (or ''Val d'Aoûta''), with capital in Aosta. * 18px|Coat of arms of Piemont Arpitan Valleys (or ''Valades Arpetanes''), with capital in Susa. * 20px|Coat of Arms of Burgundy Burgundy (or ''Borgogne''), with capital in Mâcon. * 20px|Coat of Arms of Dauphiné Dauphiné (or ''Dârfenât''), with capital in Grenoble. * 20px|Coat of Arms of Burgundy Jura, with capital in Lons-le-Saunier. * 20px|Coat of Arms of Lyonnais Lyonnais (or ''Liyonês''), with capital in Lyon. * 20px|Coat of Arms of Savoy Romandy (or ''Romandia''), with capital in Lausanne. * 20px|Coat of Arms of Savoy Savoy (or ''Savouè''), with capital in Chambéry.
=== Largest settlements === The most populous city in Arpitania is Lyon, which has a metropolitan area with 2,327,861 inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Insee - Statistiques locales |url=https://statistiques-locales.insee.fr/#c=indicator&i=pop_depuis_1876.pop&s=2022&selcodgeo=002&t=A01&view=map13 |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=statistiques-locales.insee.fr}}</ref> Other significant metropolitan areas are Grand Geneva (1,046,168 inhabitants<ref name="GLCT_pop">Grand Genève is made up of:
* Canton of Geneva (506,343 inh. in Jan. 2021)[https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/de/su-f-01.02.04.07] * District of Nyon (103,305 inh. in Jan. 2021)[https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/de/su-f-01.02.04.07] * Genevois français (436,520 inh. in Jan. 2021), itself made up of CA Thonon Agglomération (93,344 inh.)[https://statistiques-locales.insee.fr/#bbox=530347,5934447,355931,215247&c=indicator&i=pop_depuis_1876.pop&s=2021&selcodgeo=200067551&t=A01&view=map4], CA Annemasse-les Voirons-Agglomération (93,417 inh.)[https://statistiques-locales.insee.fr/#bbox=530347,5934447,355931,215247&c=indicator&i=pop_depuis_1876.pop&s=2021&selcodgeo=200011773&t=A01&view=map4], CC Arve et Salève (20,352 inh.)[https://statistiques-locales.insee.fr/#bbox=530347,5934447,355931,215247&c=indicator&i=pop_depuis_1876.pop&s=2021&selcodgeo=247400583&t=A01&view=map4], CC du Pays Rochois (29,112 inh.)[https://statistiques-locales.insee.fr/#bbox=530347,5934447,355931,215247&c=indicator&i=pop_depuis_1876.pop&s=2021&selcodgeo=247400724&t=A01&view=map4], CC Faucigny-Glières (27,764 inh.)[https://statistiques-locales.insee.fr/#bbox=530347,5934447,355931,215247&c=indicator&i=pop_depuis_1876.pop&s=2021&selcodgeo=200000172&t=A01&view=map4], CC du Genevois (48,708 inh.)[https://statistiques-locales.insee.fr/#bbox=530347,5934447,355931,215247&c=indicator&i=pop_depuis_1876.pop&s=2021&selcodgeo=247400690&t=A01&view=map4], CA du Pays de Gex (102,027 inh.)[https://statistiques-locales.insee.fr/#bbox=530347,5934447,355931,215247&c=indicator&i=pop_depuis_1876.pop&s=2021&selcodgeo=240100750&t=A01&view=map4], and CC du Pays Bellegardien (21,796 inh.)[https://statistiques-locales.insee.fr/#bbox=530347,5934447,355931,215247&c=indicator&i=pop_depuis_1876.pop&s=2021&selcodgeo=240100891&t=A01&view=map4].</ref>) and -to a lesser extent- the Grenoble metropolitan area (714,799 inhabitants).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Comparateur de territoires − Commune de Grenoble (38185) {{!}} Insee |url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/1405599?geo=AAV2020-014+UU2020-38701+COM-38185 |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=www.insee.fr}}</ref> Most bigger cities in Arpitania are located in either of these three metropolitan areas. {{Largest cities | name = Largest cities of Arpitania | class = nav | country = Arpitania | kind = cities | stat_ref = <ref name=pop2023>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/fichier/8680726/ensemble.pdf Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations de référence en 2023], INSEE, 29 December 2025.</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/soziale-sicherheit/sozialberichterstattung/statistischer-sozialbericht-schweiz.assetdetail.80392.html |title=Städtische Bevölkerung: Agglomerationen und isolierte Städte |publisher=Swiss Federal Statistical Office |location=Neuchâtel, Switzerland |language=de, fr |date=26 August 2016 |access-date=14 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bilancio demografico mensile demoistat |url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=D7B&l=it}}</ref> | div_name = Region | div_link = Region | city_1 = Lyon | div_1 = Lyonnais | pop_1 = 520,774 | city_2 = Geneva | div_2 = Romandy | pop_2 = 203,856 | city_3 = Saint-Étienne | div_3 = Lyonnais | pop_3 = 173,136 | city_4 = Villeurbanne| div_4 = Lyonnais | pop_4 = 163,684 | city_5 = Grenoble | div_5 = Dauphiné | pop_5 = 156,140 | city_6 = Lausanne | div_6 = Romandy| pop_6 = 144,873 | city_7 = Annecy | div_7 = Savoy | pop_7 = 132,117 | city_8 = Chambéry | div_8 = Savoy | pop_8 = 59,964 | city_9 = Vaulx-en-Velin | div_9 = Lyonnais| pop_9 = 53,069 | city_10 = Saint-Priest | div_10 = Lyonnais| pop_10 = 49,229 | city_11 = Caluire-et-Cuire | div_11 = Lyonnais | pop_11 = 43,597 | city_12 = Bron | div_12 = Lyonnais | pop_12 = 42,982 | city_13 = Bourg-en-Bresse | div_13 = Burgundy | pop_13 = 42,372 | city_14 = Oullins-Pierre-Bénite | div_14 = Lyonnais | pop_14 = 38,168 | city_15 = Fribourg | div_15 = Romandy | pop_15 = 38,039 | city_16 = Thonon-les-Bains | div_16 = Savoy | pop_16 = 37,928 | city_17 = Saint-Martin-d'Hères | div_17 = Dauphiné| pop_17 = 37,695 | city_18 = La Chaux-de-Fonds | div_18 = Romandy | pop_18 = 36,915 | city_19 = Meyzieu | div_19 = Lyonnais| pop_19 = 36,687 | city_20 = Roanne | div_20 = Lyonnais | pop_20 = 35,409 }} == Language == [[File:Lenguas galorromance.png|alt=Approximate geographic distribution of Gallo-Romance languages, consisting of Oïl languages (green) and Arpitan (blue).|thumb|Approximate geographic distribution of Gallo-Romance languages, consisting of Oïl languages (green) and Arpitan (blue).]] {{See also|Franco-Provençal}} The Arpitan language, formerly known as ''Franco-Provençal'' or alternatively ''patois'', is the native language of Arpitania. It belongs to the Gallo-Romance languages, while also being influenced strongly by the bordering languages Occitan, Piedmontese, and Romansh. Ethnologue describes Arpitan as "nearly extinct".<ref name=":2" />
The language is only recognised in the Aosta Valley, where it is commonly referred to as ''valdôtain'', but does not form part of the education system, nor is the language present in the education systems in other parts of Arpitania.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Tan |first=Youyansu |date=2020-08-07 |title=REVIVING FRENCH ARPITAN: RECOMMENDATIONS TO REVITALIZATION EFFORTS |url=https://grdspublishing.org/index.php/people/article/view/124 |journal=PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences |language=en |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=275–294 |doi=10.20319/pijss.2020.62.275294 |issn=2454-5899|doi-access=free }}</ref> In 2022, the UNPO denounced the "severe restriction of language rights by the French government" in Arpitania due to the lack of any formal recognition of the language in France.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-14 |title=France : UNPO Submits Universal Periodic Review to UN on Treatment of Minorities - |url=https://unpo.org/france-unpo-submits-universal-periodic-review-to-un-on-treatment-of-minorities/ |access-date=2026-03-05 |language=en-GB}}</ref> It is also only the Aosta Valley where Arpitan is still spoken across different generations, while the remaining regions have almost only elderly speakers.alt=Books in Arpitan|thumb|Books in ArpitanDue to strong dialectal differences in Arpitan and a general lack of shared identification among Arpitan-speakers, the language is often referred to by using geolinguistic names, including ''valsoanin'', ''mâconnais'', and ''savoyard''. To unify these dialects in written Arpitan, a standard orthography has been developed by the Arpitan linguist {{interlanguage link|Domenico Stich|frp}} in 2003, which was dubbed ''ORB'' (''Ortografia de rèference B'').<ref name=":1" /> This orthography is used in dictionaries and automatic translation machines.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Apertium {{!}} A free/open-source machine translation platform |url=https://apertium.org/index.cat.html#?dir=eng-epo&q= |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=apertium.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Index |url=http://arpitan.eu/SmartDic |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=arpitan.eu}}</ref> Next to the standard orthography, many dialects of Arpitan dispose over their own orthography.
== Gallery == <gallery class="center" widths="170" heights="170"> File:Lyon-part-dieu-2023.jpg|The skyline of the Part-Dieu district in Lyon File:Institut Lumière Lyon.jpg|The Lumière Museum, displaying many early inventions of the Lumière brothers, in Lyon File:Geneve 2005 001 Ork.ch.jpg|An aerial view of Geneva and the Lake Geneva, one of Arpitania's largest cities File:Palace of Nations Geneva 20102014 02.jpg|The ''Palais des Nations'' is the main building on the United Nations Office of Geneva, one of the four major offices of the UN File:Saint-etienne cathedrale.JPG|The Saint-Étienne Cathedral is one of the main attractions of Saint-Étienne File:Moucherotte 23 12 11 092 (2) final.JPG|An aerial view of Grenoble, surrounded by the Dauphiné Alps File:Siège CIO 2020 (1).jpg|The seat of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne File:Vue de Mâcon.jpg|The Saône river in Mâcon File:Casa Valdostana Cretaz Valtournenche.JPG|A typical Aostan house in Valtournenche File:Vue-Lons-le-Saunier-2.jpg|An aerial view of Lons-le-Saunier File:Chambéry - Place St-Léger.JPG|The ''place St-Léger'' is one of the main pedestrian streets of Chambéry File:Susa 001.jpg|The centre of Susa, the largest town in the Arpitan Valleys File:Mont Blanc @ Adret Aiguille de Charlanon.jpg|The Mont Blanc is Europe's highest mountain and is located on the border of Savoy and the Aosta Valley File:A young St. Bernard dog - Shanu playing on snow.jpg|St. Bernard dogs have a long history of rescue activities in the Western Alps File:Gruyere alpage th wa.jpg|Gruyère cheese is a Swiss cheese from the Arpitan town of Gruyères File:Asse ol 2425.png|AS Saint-Étienne and Olympique Lyonnais are two of the most successful football teams in France </gallery>
== See also == * Occitania * Arpitan language
== References == {{reflist}}
== Bibliography == * Jozé Harrieta [Joseph Henriet], ''La lingua arpitana'', 1976. * Mikael Bodlore-Penlaez, «Savoy and Aosta, heart of the Arpitan people» in ''Atlas of Stateless Nations in Europe: Minority People in Search of Recognition'', Y Lolfa, 2011. {{ISBN|978-1-84771-379-7}} *Les Alpes et leurs noms de lieux, 6000 ans d'histoire ? : Les appellations d'origine pré-indo-européenne., Paul-Louis Rousset, 1988, {{ISBN|2-901193-02-1}} *Les mots de la montagne autour du Mont-Blanc, Hubert Bessat et Claudette Germi, Ed. Ellug, Programme Rhône-Alpes, Recherches en Sciences Humaines, 1991, {{ISBN|2-902709-68-4}}.
== External links == * [http://arpitania.eu Aliance Culturèla Arpitanna] * [http://www.lexilogos.com/francoprovencal.htm Babel Lexilogos (''French'')] * [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/it-harp.html Harpitanya Movement Flag] * [http://www.patwe.ch/chavyeje/ Listen to some audio documents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716225106/http://www.patwe.ch/chavyeje/ |date=2014-07-16 }} in an Arpitan dialect.
Category:Regions of France Category:Geographical, historical and cultural regions of France Category:Arpitania Category:Geography of Switzerland Category:Geography of France Category:Geography of Italy