Barcelonnette () is a commune of France and a subprefecture in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d ' Azur region.

While the town's name is generally seen as a diminutive form of Barcelona in Spain, Albert Dauzat and Charles Rostaing point out an earlier attestation of the name Barcilona in Barcelonnette in around 1200, and suggest that it is derived instead from two earlier stems signifying a mountain, * bar and * cin ( the latter of which is also seen in the name of Mont Cenis ).

Barcelonnette is situated in the wide and fertile Ubaye Valley, of which it is the largest town.

It lies at an elevation of 1132 m ( 3717 ft ) on the right bank of the Ubaye River, and is surrounded by mountains which reach peaks of over 3000 m ; the tallest of these is the Needle of Chambeyron at 3412 m. Barcelonnette is situated 210 km from Turin, 91 km from Nice and 68 km from Gap.

None of the 200 communes of the department is entirely free of seismic risk ; the canton of Barcelonnette is placed in zone 1b ( low risk ) by the determinist classifcation of 1991 based on seismic history, and zone 4 ( average risk ) according to the probabilistic EC8 classification of 2011.

Barcelonnette is also exposed to the possibility of a technological hazard in that road transport of dangerous materials is allowed to pass through on the RD900.

The Pra Loup resort is 7 km from Barcelonnette ; Le Sauze is 5 km away.

Notably, Barcelonnette is the only subprefecture of France not be served by rail transport ; the Ubaye line which would have linked Chorges to Barcelonnette was never completed as a result of the First World War and the construction of the Serre-Ponçon Dam between 1955 and 1961.

The lycée André-Honnorat de Barcelonnette, originally the collège Saint-Maurice and renamed after the politician André Honnorat in 1919, is located in the town ; Pierre-Gilles de Gennes and Carole Merle both studied there.

Gavòt ( in French Gavot ), spoken in the Western Occitan Alps, around Digne, Sisteron, Gap, Barcelonnette and the upper County of Nice, but also in a part of the Ardèche, is not exactly a subdialect of Provençal, but rather a closely related Occitan dialect, also known as Vivaro-Alpine.

Its source is at an altitude of 2819 m, in the south-western Alps ( Alpes-de-Haute-Provence ), between the col d ' Allos and the Trois Eveches mountain, south of Barcelonnette.

Following the Roman conquest of Provence, Barcelonnette was included in a small province with modern Embrun as its capital and governed by Albanus Bassalus.

In 1388, after Count Louis II of Provence had left to conquer Naples, the Count of Savoy Amadeus VIII took control of Barcelonnette ; however, it returned to Provençal control in 1390, with the d ' Audiffret family as its lords.

The viguerie of Barcelonnette ( also comprising Saint-Martin and Entraunes ) was reattached to France in 1713 as part of a territorial exchange with the Duchy of Savoy during the Treaties of Utrecht.

The strongest recorded earthquakes in the region occurred on 5 April 1959, with its epicentre at Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye and a recorded intensity of 6. 5 at Barcelonnette, and on 17 February 1947, with its epicentre at Prazzo over the Italian border.

The Col de Largentière historically linked Lyon with Italy ; it offered an easy route between Piedmont and the outlying valley of Barcelonnette, which came into Savoyard possession when Amadeus or his heir transferred it from the County of Provence to the County of Nice.

At the turn of the 20th century, there were 5, 000 French families from the Barcelonnette region registered with the French Consulate in Mexico.

It connects Barcelonnette in France with Cuneo in Italy.

Under its earlier name, Col de l ' Argentière it has historically linked Lyons with Italy ; the Col de l ' Argentière was in the possession of the house of Savoy from 1388 to 1713, offering an easy route between Piedmont and its outlying valley of Barcelonnette, which came into Savoyard possession in 1388, when Amadeus VI of Savoy purchased it for the sum of 60, 000 ecus, it was of such strategic and commercial importance.

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