Destination Napoleon draws its originality and richness from its continental dimension, its geographical and administrative diversity and, certainly, its historical, cultural and heritage breadth. This analysis of the Napoleonic era highlights the rise of the Civil Code, sovereign nations and republics in the various territories influenced or conquered by Napoleon. The Route brings together different perspectives on this shared page from our past, differences that enrich us all.
For our towns, Napoleon was sometimes a builder, sometimes a legislator, an administrator, a conqueror, or a defeated enemy. Sometimes all of these in succession. The result is a wide range of assessments, illustrating the richness and complexity of his work and creating a fascinating object of contemporary culture. We therefore need to take into account both the historical truth, which is of course inescapable, but also respond to the diversity of expectations, practices and contexts by country and within each country, by territory.
It is not enough to follow in the footsteps of the great campaigns or to place commemorative markers on the battlefields, we also need to take account of what the legacy of the Napoleonic period has left to each of the nations involved and to the construction of Europe. The cultural route thus gives substance to the various aspects surrounding Napoleon and his myth, which is still very much alive in Europe and around the world.
We also want to highlight this heritage so that it continues to create meaning and wealth for our contemporaries. We know that it is through a sound knowledge and appreciation of the contributions of history that Europe's citizens will be better equipped to face the challenges of modern times.
Napoleon, one of the world's best-known historical figures, is a key gateway to the whole of Europe's heritage, far beyond Napoleon's alone.
