The title of Towns of Art and History, conferred by France's Ministry for Culture on Brittany's towns of special artistic and historic interest, denotes towns which see themselves in terms of their high standard of architectural and urban heritage and strong cultural traditions. Organised into a regional association since 1984, they have signed up to a mutually agreed charter aimed at developing each town as a distintive tourist destination on a par with the Flemish or Italian towns of special artistic interest.