First monograph on the Ladins of the Dolomites published in French

The dramatic scenery of the Dolomitic Alps in Northern Italy has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009. But, from time immemorial it has also been the home of the little known Ladin people. This area of the Alpine arc was conquered by Rome in the 1st century B.C., and subsequently assimilated. In the course of centuries, the Ladin population decreased and their territory dwindled. They were thus separated from their ‘kin’ : the Romansh of the Swiss Grison canton, as well as from Frioulians in North-Eastern Italy. Nevertheless, in spite of their being a small nation (32 000 people today, one of the tiniest minorities in Europe), they managed to preserve their language and their culture, enriching them through close contact with German speakers to the North, and Italians to the South. Ladins thwarted germanization and italianization attempts, survived the 1st World War, as well as displacement plans by Hitler and Mussolini. Strengthened by these experiences and made confident by a flourishing economy, the Ladins are now fully aware of their identity, with the result that their community is expanding (an almost unique situation for a European ethnic minority). This is the first book ever to direct attention to the Ladins through the medium of French.

Soft-cover book, size 12,5 x 19 cms, 316 pages + pages I to XVI are inset plates bearing coloured illustrations, black and white illustrations, bibliography, complements, maps.