Larche

Towns and Villages - by Provence Beyond

Villages > Larche

Nearby:  | Barcelonnette 33 km | Embrun 72 km | Guillestre 45 km (via Col de Vars) | Meyronnes 13 km | Saint Paul-sur-Ubaye 24 km | Saint Paul-sur-Ubaye 18 km | 52 km |

Below: | francois | Transhumance | Non Roman Bridge | Hiking | Dining | Lodging Hotels |

The village isn't old looking, and has a very modern little church, but is a nice and pleasant place. The newness is due to centuries of savage fighting and repeated destructions in the valley, with the town being destroyed most recently in 1944.

The buildings may be new, but the life is in the inhabitants. We got much of our information from this couple (in our photo, left). The man had lived here in Larche for all of his 80 years, and his occupations as shepard, soldier and customs official gave him a great knowledge of the surrounding hills and mountains.

Larche is a cross-country skiing center, so most of the visitors here are in the winter. Summer visitors tend to be mostly hikers.

François I

On 15 Aug 1515, king François I, 20 years old, crossed the Col de Larche, surprised the enemy (Piemontais?) and won a great victory at Marignan; and there've been wars constantly since then. The hills here are full of blockhouses and other military defensive positions. The chemin des canons, crossing the pass along the hillside above the valley, was apparently made by François I for his cross-Alpine invasion. The local story we got was that "the Austrians pulled their cannons along that mountain trail". In any case, the "chemin" is overgrown now, and more easily distinguished from a distance.

Transhumance

In the Middle Ages, the flocks of the Ubayette (the French side) crossed the pass here to winter in the Peimont. Later, in the 15th century, the grands transhumants were the movement of sheep from the Pays de Aix-en-Provence that crossed the Col du Larche for the Stura di Monte.

From the 15th century on, the flocks crossed the pass here, with up to 60,000 annually. In fairly recent times, the Fascists stopped the cross-border activity, although the "French" shepards were orginally Piemontias who had crossed over earlier. Even when the transhumance was legal, the flocks were often brought across at night, with the bells removed from the sheep, to avoid customs charges.

See also Transhumance.

Non Roman Bridge

We were looking for for a supposed Roman bridge listed in one of our old guidebooks. The couple we met here (above) assured us there was none. And who better to know than one of the "ancients". He also explained how map makers put down incorrect names and misunderstood labels, forever changing the "real" names of places.

The nearest Roman bridge we know of is the lovely one at Le Lauzet-Ubaye.

Hiking

Maps:

Didier Richard (1/50,000) #1 "Alpes de Provence"

The GR5-56 passes through Larche. To the southeast, the trail goes up the Ubayette valley to the Col de Larche (1948 m), then south through the mountains just this side of the Italian frontier.

To the north, the GR5-56 goes over the Col de Mallemort (2558 m) and continues northwest in the the Queyras mountains.

Dining

We didn't eat here, but noted the hotel-restaurants we saw.

Hotel Bar Restaurant de la Paix

Rooms from 125 F /person/night (about 20 euros)

Plat du jour 45 F (about 7 euros)

Tel: 04 92 84 41 90

 

Relais d'Italie Hotel Bar Restaurant

 

Auberge du Lauzanier (and Gite)

Tel: 04 92 84 35 93

Lodging - Hotels