Picardy is the cradle of France and a land of simple and genuine pleasures; of rural common sense rooted in a solid country ancestry. The “Picard spirit” could be summed up in the paradox between its tremendous history and self-effacement. A Picard is discreet, even if he feels a certain pride in passing on to others the values that make the men of this land noble: sincerity, loyalty, courage and pleasure in a job well done.
The Picard method of “do it as you go along” is a model of pragmatism and tenacity combined, as is the sense of seeking new challenges through masterpieces – Picardy is a land of cathedral builders.
With the second highest number of classified historical monuments in France, Picardy is the ideal for cultural discovery. It also cultivates a real talent for stimulating the imagination (Jules Verne wrote his most famous novels in his house in Amiens).
This inventive and populist spirit is found in the Picard language which is a vehicle for the famous Picard “mischievous irony”, inherited from the fabliaux (fables in verse). The Picard language has given rise to an extensive literature from the Middle Ages to contemporary novels. The cartoon books “Tintin chez les Picards” (“Tintin in Picardy” and “Asterix and the Class Act” in Picard, hold the sales records for literature printed in a regional language.