Created as a way to build up differentiation, identity has to be thought as a dynamic process which permits to produce boundaries between Us and the Others. Referring to this definition, heritage appears, via the selection of his objects, as a manner of proclaiming identity and telling stories about origins. Medium of memory, heritage can be viewed as a discourse on membership, as a way of thinking national identity.

From this kind of hypothesis, we suggest to compare French and Catalan heritages which are both revealing two different ways of thinking membership. Therefore, we will be able to contrast the universalistic and individualist French identity model and the Catalan membership context which, on the other way, use to defend cultural diversity and the right to have a singular identity.

In fine, this text deals with the relation between heritage, memory and membership in the context of two opposite nations distinguished by different representations of identity. By observing the national heritage’s construction process in the cases of France and Catalonia, we think it will be possible to analyse the way nations use to transform memory in order to enforce national identity.