From prehistoric times onwards, people have always inhabited the area of Alpes de Haute-Provence. They lived in caves in the Verdon gorges and built huts on piles in the Durance valley.
At the beginning of our era Gallo-Roman settlements - Riez, Sisteron, Digne-les-Bains - replaced the Celto-Ligurian hill forts. Invaders from the North (Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Franks) were then followed by the Saracens. In 974 William of Arles drove out the infidels for good and became the first count of an independent Provence, which remained so until 1481. From the 10th to the 14th centuries the land enjoyed considerable economic development.
It was the golden age of Romanesque art. Abbeys, cathedrals and chapels flourished even in the most isolated areas. From the 16th to the 18th century, the French and Austrian empires often disputed each other's borders. As a frontier territory, Haute-Provence suffered from many armed conflicts, major epidemics and famines.
The revolutionary period was fairly quiet, and in 1791 the "département" of the Basses-Alpes came into being.
After escaping from the island of Elba in 1815, Napoléon 1st passed through the Basses-Alpes to reach the capital. He was to reign for just 100 days.
On 2nd December 1851, Louis Napoléon Bonaparte launched his coup d'état. The "département" rose up in revolt, and the resulting repression was extremely harsh.
In the 19th century, many local people emigrated from the area, some going as far as Mexico to seek their fortune.
The 20th century began with promising development of skiing, brought to a brutal end by the Second World War. The 1950s were years of major construction projects : roads, dams, etc. The Basses-Alpes entered the modern era without sacrificing the quality of the natural environment. In 1971 they became the Alpes de Haute-Provence.

CULTURAL DISCOVERIES