EFFEPI Association for Francoprovençal Studies and Research

The Effepi, Association for Franco-Provençal studies and research, was founded in 1980 following the “Festa del Patois” held that year in Ronco Canavese, with the aim of promoting the Franco-Provençal linguistic minority of Piedmont, which had been little known until then, and spreading knowledge of it.

With the term 'Franco-Provençal', scholars, adopting the designation of the linguist G.I. Ascoli, define the Gallo-Romance linguistic family present in the cross-border area extending in France from Lyon to Savoy, from Forez to Bresse, in Switzerland in the Romandy cantons, in Italy in the Aosta Valley and in some valleys of Piedmont, as well as in a small linguistic enclave in Puglia.

The Effepi Association works to deepen knowledge, enhance, and keep alive the language, i.e. the so-called 'patois', local varieties of Franco-Provençal spoken in Valle Soana, Valle Orco, Valli di Lanzo, Valle di Susa, Val Cenischia, Val Sangone, and the culture they express.
To this end, it has organized and continues to organize initiatives such as conferences, conventions, courses, exhibitions, and events such as poetry recitals, the Festival dla tchanson en patois, the Nohte Vià, the Rendez-vous francoprovensal, the Franco-Provençal Book Fair, and the International Patois Festivals, as well as conducting research and publishing books and the Effepi journal.

Special attention has been given to younger generations through promotion in schools of the Franco-Provençal valleys, starting in 1982, of the annual “EFFEPI Local Culture Competition”, involving thousands of students over the years.

All initiatives are carried out thanks to the passion and voluntary commitment of members and in collaboration with Municipalities, Institutions, and local Associations. In addition, Effepi is part of the Committee of the “Laboratori del Saper Fare” (composed of Effepi, Pietra su Pietra onlus, and the Consulta delle Soms del Canavese) and maintains relationships and collaborations with associations and institutions working for Franco-Provençal in the Aosta Valley, France, and Switzerland; it is a member of the Fédération Romande et Internationale des Patoisants and a founding member of the C.I.F. Conseil International pour le francoprovençal. Since its early years, Effepi has dealt not only with language but also with the culture of the valleys in all its aspects (history, architecture, craftsmanship, traditions, know-how, etc.), as stated in its statute which reads, among other things: “Effepi aims to contribute to the enhancement of urban, architectural, and landscape traditions and to work towards a deeper understanding of the peculiarities and economic vocations of the Franco-Provençal valleys”.

To this end, in 1983 the association organized in Ronco Canavese, in collaboration with the Institute of Alpine Geography of the University of Grenoble, the conference “Tourism Prospects in Valle Soana”, during which it drew attention to the importance of the preservation of the architectural heritage characterizing Valle Soana, and in particular of some ancient buildings, at that time totally abandoned and in an advanced state of decay, located in the municipalities of Ronco Canavese and Valprato Soana, such as the rascart of Servin, Cugnon and Pianey, the forge near Crest, and the fortified house of Recré.

The outreach work aimed at raising awareness among institutions and the population for the protection of architectural heritage continued in the following years with various initiatives, such as the census of votive chapels in Valle Soana carried out in 1989, which led to a travelling exhibition and projection evenings, seminars on wooden architecture with contributions from university professors and experts in the field, and photographic documentation. Particular attention in conferences, meetings, and conventions was devoted to the fortified houses in the Orco-Soana area. These valuable historical-architectural testimonies dating back to the Middle Ages were also illustrated during the seminar “Alpine architecture, a heritage to be enhanced”, organized by Effepi and the Municipality of Locana, held in Locana in 2007 with the participation of consultants from the Superintendency for Architectural Heritage of the Aosta Valley, professors from the University of Genoa and the Polytechnic of Turin, including Micaela Viglino Davico, author of a well-known study on Canavese fortified houses.

With these and other initiatives, Effepi has aimed to contribute to raising awareness, above all among local populations, of the architectural treasures present in the valleys.

In Valle Soana, the ancient stone buildings, and especially the fortified house of Recré, which bears witness to the existence in past times of a prosperous community and is today undergoing a worthy restoration, as well as the surviving wooden rascart that document links with the nearby Aosta Valley, constitute an important part of the local cultural heritage due to their intrinsic architectural value, historical testimony, evident landscape character, and also the economic potential that an intelligent recovery of these buildings may have.