Overview
The South of France is one of the most beautiful regions of Europe, bordered on one side by the Alps and on the other by the Pyrenees. The central part is flat, particularly where the Rhone fans out into a delta as it reaches the Mediterranean, and forms the Camargue. Collectively, this area is known as Le Midi and the very name conjures up, not only to the French, but also to millions of sun-starved Northern Europeans, the dream of a carefree rural existence, under perpetual blue skies. The area can be divided into three regions, each with a distinct character. These are, from East to west, the Cote d’Azur, Provence and Languedoc Roussillon. The Cote d’Azur is covered in the ACIS Nice TM Notes, the other two regions are the subject of these notes, which are arranged as follows:
- Carcassonne (Cathares)
- Montpellier
- The Camargue
- Aigues Mortes
- Provence (General notes on the area/the Languedoc)
- Nimes (Pre Roman and Roman settlement)
- The Pont du Gard
- Arles
- Avignon
- Aix en Provence
- Between Aix and Nice (brief notes on the route)
- General Introduction
Touring the South of France you will be visiting the impressive remains of five hundred years of Roman occupation (Nîmes, Arles, the Pont du Gard), Medieval fortresses (Aigues Mortes and Carcassonne) all set in a region of unsurpassed and varied natural beauty, from the rugged splendour of the Montagne Noire to the desolate beauty of the Camargue and the charming rural areas of Provence with their vineyards, lavender fields and idyllic villages.
Carcassonne
Carcassonne is like something out of a picture book. It is the largest fortress in Europe and one of the very few which provide a living example of a medieval fortified town.
Entering the citadel over the drawbridge, you pass through the double curtain walls and the main fortified gateway to find yourself in a narrow bustling street lined with shops. Continuing along this street you come to the fortress-within-the fortress, the last stronghold, where the inhabitants would barricade themselves should the outer defences fall. As you wander through the town, you will come across various small squares, each with a well, the Basilica of St Nazaire and the open-air theatre where the annual festival takes place. Of course Carcassonne is full of tourists,, but it doesn’t take a great deal of imagination to relive its turbulent history; from the days of its brilliant court with minstrels and troubadours, courtly knights and fair maidens, to agonising months of siege, when the inhabitants were forced to eat rats and dogs, imprisoned in their invincible fortress.
The Romans built the first fortified settlement in the 2nd century BC. They called the town Carcasso and built ramparts around it, which are the foundations of the inner wall. The town was an important staging post on the trade route between Italy and Western Gaul. By the 5th century AD, Roman authority had crumbled under successive waves of invasion by savage tribes with romantic sounding names from the North and East of Europe. The Visigoths ruled the Languedoc for 300 years until the Frankish kings overcame them in the 8th C. Although the Visigoths had further fortified the Cite, it was unable to withstand an assault by the Saracens, and was held by them for 30 years, until Pepin the Short, managed to recapture Carcassonne, which was incorporated into the Frankish kingdom in 759.
The legendary origin of the Cite’s name dates from the time of the Saracen occupation. For five years Charlemagne had been besieging Carcassonne, but still the occupants would not surrender. Conditions within the walls were desperate – all that remained to eat was one piglet and a measure of corn. At this point the Lady Carcass, a Muslim princess, decided to take action. Resorting to psychological warfare, she ordered straw dummies of archers to be posted on the battlements, and that the corn should be fed to the pig. When he was nice and fat she had him thrown over the ramparts, as if to taunt the besieging army with the self-sufficiency of the defenders. Discouraged at last, Charlemagne was riding away when he heard all the bells ringing – Carcass sonne! – calling him back to discuss peace conditions.
For the next 400 years Carcassonne was ruled by Counts, later Viscounts, under the protection of the Counts of Toulouse. The Trencavel dynasty built the inner fortress (the Chateau Comtal), repaired and reinforced the fortifications and in 1096, began the construction of the Basilica. Under their rule the Cite became prosperous and independent and their court was a brilliant centre of learning and culture.
All this was to come to an end during the Albigensian Crusade of 1209. The Albigensian heresy (in French more usually say Les Cathares, deriving from the Greek word for “pure”) quickly took hold in the Languedoc and was actively supported by the Trencavels, who valued their independence and were happy to attack the clergy, whom they could not dominate.
The heresy itself may not seem very earth shattering to us today, but in the 13thC, the Catholic Church reacted hysterically to any deviation in dogma, which it construed as a threat to its absolute authority over all Christendom. The fundamental principle of the Albigensians was the separation of Good and Evil. Satan governed the material world, whilst the true God ruled over the spiritual world. Haunted by the notion of Evil, they strove to liberate the spirit from the flesh and achieve divine purity. Four bishops headed the new religion, those of Albi (hence the name), Toulouse, Agen and Carcassonne. The faithful Parfaits practised chastity, poverty, patience and humility and were venerated by the other element, the Croyants.
The heretics abolished the sacraments, replacing them with their own, the Consolamentum. This, together with their attacks on the dissolute life of the Catholic clergy and their own interpretation of the scriptures was enough to make the Vatican see red.
Ten years of more peaceable attempts at discouragement having failed, Pope Innocent III launched the Albigension Crusade in 1209. Carcassonne came under siege in August and, although gallantly defended by Raymond de Trencavel, who was only 24, fell after 15 days. The Cite then became the headquarters of Simon de Montfort, who was in charge of eradicating the heresy. Raymond was imprisoned in one of the towers, where he died a few months later. The Crusade was ruthless, cities were devastated and their populations massacred. After 20 years, a truce was declared and Languedoc was attached to the French crown. It was not until 1244, however, that the heresy was finally defeated, when 270 Cathares were burned at the stake together in Montsegur.
In 1240, Raymond’s son attempted to regain Carcassonne. The royal army, however, defeated him and St Louis ordered the destruction of all the suburbs that had grown up around the base of the ramparts as a punishment. The inhabitants were banished for seven years, after which time the king allowed them to build a new town on the opposite bank of the Aude (today’s ville nouvelle – dating from 1247!).
At the same time he ordered that the fortifications should be strengthened by the construction of a second, outer wall with fourteen towers. The area between the two walls (les Lices) was levelled and nowadays is a great place to walk and admire the twenty-four towers of the inner wall. In 1659, however, the military function of Carcassonne all but disappeared with the annexation of Roussillon to the crown. The frontier with Spain was now some fifty miles away and the Cite was reduced to a sleepy garrison town. Thus it mouldered, gradually falling into disrepair, until the 19thC when, in the prevailing Romantic spirit of the age, Viollet le Duc was commissioned to undertake the restoration of the Cite. Purists complain that he did so rather too energetically, but the fact remains that it is thanks to his efforts that we can still visit today what is probably the most impressive fortress in all Europe.
Carcassonne is a great place to talk about medieval military architecture since you can actually point out all the features. Europeans learned about siege warfare during the Crusades, where they found themselves confronted with formidable defensive citadels, which could only be subdued by prolonged sieges. Until the invention of gunpowder transformed warfare in the mid 15th C, the advantage in war was very much on the side of the defender provided his fortress had been properly constructed. The outer defences consisted of a water-filled moat, which, if not stocked with the crocodiles and piranhas of legend, certainly did receive all the rubbish and raw sewage of the citadel and must have been a pretty unpleasant proposition. At the first sign of danger the drawbridge would have been drawn up and the portcullis lowered isolating the fortress like an island. Archers would be posted behind the crenulations on the battlements and at the arrow-slits in the towers. They would not hesitate to pour boiling oil, lead, or lighted pitch on the attackers attempting to scale the walls, and pierced wooden platforms were constructed outside the towers for this purpose. The base of the towers was curved outward to make it difficult to gain a foothold, and some towers had angled edges to deflect projectiles.
Thus defended the occupants simply had to sit it out, although sieges could, and did, sometimes last for years. Food stores were a vital defensive insurance, but the most precious commodity was water. All citadels were provided with wells, if the water was piped in from outside the walls, the system was highly secret, since the enemy would try chemical warfare – polluting the water supply, or lobbing diseased animals and rotting carcasses over the walls.
The attackers meanwhile prepared the assault by fortifying their own position with a ditch, palisade and watch towers. This was both to guard against a break-out and also to be ready f or any reinforcements which might be called up to help the defenders. The attack itself used battering rams and catapults to break down the ramparts. Parts of the moat would be filled, in and giant towers rolled up to the walls, up which the soldiers swarmed. In other cases structures were built to straddle the moats and scaling ladders would be run up the walls. At night, sappers would attempt to tunnel under the walls and all kinds of ruses and trickery would be used in an attempt to get inside the citadel, which very often fell only as a result of famine, disease or treachery.
On a final, and lighter, note: the culinary speciality of Carcassonne is cassoulet (Castelnaudary also claims it); a delicious concoction of white beans cooked very slowly with preserved duck or goose, cured pork and sausage. A bit heavy on a hot day but great if it’s what you feel like!
Montpellier
Montpellier is undoubtedly the Southern French town with the most dynamic “look.” The French government’s decentralisation policies of the 80’s have given the old university town a new lease of life. The architectural experiments of the past few years are one of the most spectacular achievements of modern town planning. To the east of the old city centre the Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill has designed a modern development called the Antigone. Built in neo-classical style and incorporating squares and fountains, the Antigone houses conference centres, hotels and administrative buildings, as well as low cost housing. Young business people have been attracted to Montpellier by its geographical situation – in this case not only for sea and sun, but also by the proximity of two other thriving cities: Barcelona and Toulouse. In addition it has become a major conference centre. The University has 50,000 students, which also accounts for the lively atmosphere of the town. Recording studios have been built, and Montpellier was one of the first centres for avant-garde Dance (Dominique Bagouet’s Company).
Standing in the Place de la Comedie: L’0euf as it is called by the locals because of its shape you are in the heart of Montpellier. Behind you is the.Esplanade, to your left is the modern commercial and administrative centre of the Polygone and to your right is the old town. L’Oeuf is the place par excellence to meet friends and to be seen. Apart from sitting on the terraces of cafes one does the dalles – a local expression that means to take a leisurely stroll. This walk may take you to the Esplanade, where the plane trees protect you from the fierce Mediterranean sun. Its parks and gardens are the pride of Montpellier. The Jardin des Plantes on the western side of the old town was planted in 1593 to be the botanical garden of the university.
Montpellier does not have a Roman past like Nîmes and Arles. It first became important in the 13 C when it played an important role in the trade with the Orient. The trade in spices and exotic plants made Montpellier one of the first centres of medical research. The University founded in the 13 C was at first only a medical school; later on a law and art faculty was added. One of the most famous students was Rabelais who finished his studies there in 1530.
The rue de la Loge and the rue Foch lead directly from the Place de la Comédie to the Promenade du Peyrou. But if you take your group on a walk through the old town make sure you explore the small streets around the Place St Ravy (rue de, L’Ancien Courrier, rue du Bras de Fer, etc). Walk as far as the Triumphal Arch and the Promenade du Peyrou and return along the small streets north of the rue de la Loge (e.g. Place Chabaneau, rue Fournarie, rue de la Carbonnerie).
The splendour of the old town dates generally from the period of Louis XIV who made Montpellier the Capital of Bas Languedoc. It was during this period that many of the magnificent hotels particuliers were built, mainly for people who had to do with the Royal administration. During the same period the town was extended and embellished with the Esplanade, the Promenade du Peyrou, the Arc de Triomphe and the three fountains (Trois Graces – Place de la Comedie, Cibele – Place Chabaneau. Licornes – Place de la Canourge).
The Promenade du Peyrou, constructed on the highest point of the town, is an avenue leading to a water tower supplied by an aqueduct. From here you have a magnificent view onto the surrounding countryside (garrigue). In 1692 the idea was to complete the promenade, and to flatter Louis XIV, by erecting a giant statue of the king. Unfortunately its journey from Paris, where it was made, to Montpellier, turned into an Odyssey that lasted 23 years. It travelled up the Seine to Le Havre, from there to Bordeaux (where it fell into the Garonne), and down the Canal du Midi to the Mediterranean. A new canal had to be dug especially to get the statue from the coast to Montpellier and by the time it finally arrived on the Promenade du Peyrou the king had been dead for 3 years! The present statue is a copy, put up in 1838 to replace the original, which was demolished during the Revolution.
The aqueduct and the water tower were added 50 years later. The Chateau d’Eau is no doubt one of the best-disguised functional buildings ever. It looks more like a small temple than a small water reservoir.
If you are in Montpellier during the day, you can suggest a visit to the Musée Fabre, which houses an impressive collection of Raphael, Veronese, Ribera, Zubarán, Courbet and Delacroix.
The Camargue
The Rhone, the Mediterranean and the wind have together been working to create and constantly modify, the vast alluvial plain known as the Camargue since prehistoric times. Since the Second World War the river has been considerably tamed further upstream by the creation of 23 hydroelectric power stations and the building of lateral canals and locks. Nonetheless the Grand Rhone, which carries 9/10ths of the flow, annually deposits 20 million cubic metres of sand and gravel. In places the coastline extends 10 – 15 metres each year despite the protective dykes that were built in the middle of the last century. Les Saintes Maries de la Mer was an inland town in the Middle Ages, whereas Nîmes was a port . Very recently the Rhone broke through its dykes causing catastrophic flooding and agricultural damage in the Camargue.
The delta is a triangle with Nîmes at its apex and this triangle can be divided into three regions. The northern edges were first reclaimed in the Middle Ages. Since the War the land has been drained, the water being pumped into the Etang de Vaccares. The soil is then “washed” to get rid of the salt, and fertile fresh water is pumped in from the Rhone and back to the Etang de Vaccares. This system has produced good alluvial soil and you will see vines, maize, rapeseed and fruit together with some rice and forage crops. It is important not to raise the water table excessively, which would lead to high evaporation and a concentration of salt. On the southern edges are the Salins. These saltpans go back to antiquity; salt production was mechanised in the 19thC and now represents over 1 million tons per year. You can see the hills of salt from Aigues Mortes and you can tell the group that the salt they eat at table is undoubtedly produced here. The technique employed is to pump the seawater through a series of canals linking shallow evaporation pans. It takes three years and 60 km before reaching total saturation. The water is then left to evaporate completely. The salt is harvested between August and October, purified and used both domestically and in the chemical industry.
The rest of the area is a sterile plain, scattered with lagunes and rivulets (graus). This is the where you should look out for flamingos and the traditional white Camargais horses. You will see herds of the small black local bulls that are reared for French bullfighting (see Nîmes). Together the horses and bulls make up a manade, and a considerable amount of folklore surrounds these “ranches”. The gardian or cowboy is an excellent horseman, traditionally dressed in black with a wide brimmed hat and a sort of trident for controlling the animals. They are independent and somewhat gypsy-like and there is a strong Spanish feeling about the Camargue. A huge annual gypsy pilgrimage and fair takes place at Les Saintes Maries de la Mer. The Gypsy Kings originate from Nîmes and the Camargue and their blend of flamenco and rock aptly conjures up the contemporary feeling of the region.
Aigues Mortes
Lying sleepily among the lagoons like a huge stranded vessel, Aigues Mortes has hardly changed in the last 700 years. It is a unique example of a military port, purpose-built in the 13th century as a departure point for the 7th Crusade.
In 1240 the Pope summoned his bishops to Lyon with the intention of organising a crusade to the Holy Land, fallen once more into the hands of the Turks. The bishops, however, were less than enthusiastic and St Louis (Louis IX) took over the organisation of the Crusade, which became largely a French expedition. Louis’s territory did not stretch to the Mediterranean and, not wishing to embark his force from a foreign port, he bought the land from the local Abbey and immediately ordered the construction of the Constance Tower. Although a dismal and apparently unpromising site, the surrounding marshes and lagoons would protect the new port on the landward side. Building materials were obviously unavailable, but a considerable network of navigable waterways made it possible to bring stone blocks directly from the quarries of Beaucaire in flat-bottomed boats.
In 1248 a huge armada of 1500 boats, carrying 35 000 men, complete with horses and provisions set sail from Aigues Mortes for Cyprus, which they reached 23 days later. From there they continued to the Holy Land. Although at first successful, the Crusade ended in failure when the king was taken prisoner in 1250. After his release, he launched another Crusade in 1270, only to die of plague in Tunis on the outward voyage.
Back in Aigues Mortes, life was very unpleasant, with periodic outbreaks of malaria and the king was obliged to grant substantial privileges to anyone who was willing to go and live there. Furthermore, bands of brigands roamed the area, and in 1266 the first plans were made for the construction of a wall surrounding the town. At the time of Louis’s death the wall was scarcely begun and in all 20 years of shilly-shallying were to elapse before the fortifications were finally completed.
At the end of the 13thC Aigues Mortes was at the peak of its prosperity with a population of over 12 000 people, twice that of today. It continued to flourish throughout the first half of the 14thC but after this time the slowly receding seas were to bring about its decline.
The Constance Tower
Originally built to accommodate the king on his visits to Aigues Mortes, the tower was soon transformed into a prison, for which purpose its tremendously thick walls (six metres) and isolated position ideally suited it. First Templars, then a few Dukes and Counts and next Catholic leaders were imprisoned here. But it was after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 by Louis XIV that the tower housed its most famous captives.
The Protestant population of France was subjected to ever increasing persecutions. Not only were religious gatherings illegal but also possession of the Bible was considered a crime. Men were sentenced to work for life in the galleys and women had all their property and possessions confiscated. The heroine of the French Protestant cause was Marie Durand, who was shut up in the Tower for 38 years. She was taken prisoner in 1730, at the age of 15 in reprisal for her brothers eluding capture. She was an inspiration to her fellow captives (all women), sustaining them with her moral courage, in childbirth and when some, unable to stand their captivity, went mad. She never gave up, and you can still see the inscription that she scratched on the side of the well RESISTER, which is spelled “Register” reflecting the dialect of her native Vivarais. By 1768, the religious persecutions were long over, and it was only as a result of an inspection of the prison that she and her fellow captives were released. They had literally been forgotten! She returned to her home where she, sadly, died a couple of years later.
Provence
The region of Provence has acquired such a fashionable status amongst the English that estate agents, hoping to sell them second homes, now push its boundaries far further North than is really accurate. Strictly speaking Provence extends from Aigues Mortes in the West to St Maximin de la Sainte Baume in the East and North as far as Nyons. More generally though, Provence and the Languedoc blend together in people’s minds into that magical area called Ile Midi”. Peter Mayle’s “A Year in Provence” draws a fairly accurate picture of life in the region. It is still predominantly rural, producing fruit, vegetables and wine in abundance along the Rhone valley, together with olives, lavender and herbes de provence on the slopes and the garrigue.
It is not all sun and cigales, however. The fierce Mistral frequently roars down the Rhone Valley, affecting a wide hinterland. It is a cold wind, sucked down by the warmer air of the Mediterranean and is popularly said to be able to blow the ears of f a donkey! Blisteringly hot in the summer, often very cold in winter, and with periodic torrential downpours, which can cause disastrous flash floods. However, spring comes early and is a magical time when the fields are full of flowers and the peach, almond and cherry trees are covered in blossom.
Language and Literature
The accent du Midi has a pronounced twang: maisong, paing, bieng etc, recalling the linguistic division which existed in France until the 16thC. Up until the late Middle Ages, Languedoc, Roussillon and Provence were separate from the Kingdom of France. Provence itself was successively a kingdom, a County incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire, a Papal State, a kingdom again under French protection and finally became an integral part of France in 1481.
The peoples of the Roman Empire all spoke Vulgar Latin, and it is from this base that the ‘latin’ languages – Italian, Spanish, Rumanian, Portuguese etc. have developed. In France two languages emerged: the langue d’oc spoken in the South from Bordeaux to Nice, and the langue d’oil, which was used elsewhere. The names refer to the word for “yes” in each language and it is therefore clear that the langue d’oil’ (oui) finally gained supremacy. After the annexation of Provence to France the decree of Villiers Cotterets of 1539 made the langue d’oil the official language. In reality however, different dialects of the langue d’oc, such as Provencal, were still popularly spoken until the Revolution, with only the elite being bi-lingual.
The langue d’oc was the language of the troubadour ballads of the 11th and 12thC. Poets and minstrels travelling from castle to castle sang of courtly love and the language was so widely used in literature that Dante considered using it for the Divine Comedy. In modern literature Provence has inspired many authors, from the Provencal poet Mistral to Alphonse Daudet, who wrote Tartarin de Tarasconllf ul’Arlesiennell and Lettres de mon Moulin amongst other works set in Provence. A more recent author is Marcel Pagnol, three of whose books: La Gloire de mon Père, Le Chateau de ma Mere and le Temps des Secrets have been made into evocative films, not to mention Jean de Florettell and Manon des Sources.
Traditions
Specifically Provencal traditions include the Christmas creche made up of santons. These figures first appeared in Marseille at the time of the Revolution when the Church was banned. The people missed their traditional Christmas mass in the local churches with their beautiful creches. A quick-thinking craftsman began to produce little figures that he sold clandestinely so that the people could set up their own creche at home. At first made of clay, salt dough or even breadcrumb, the best santons are now made of fired clay. They represent all the metiers of Provencal life ‑ from the old lady selling snails to the shepherd and the fisherman. They are dressed in typical late 18thC peasants’ costume and there are very few strictly Biblical figures.
The brightly coloured patterned fabrics used to make their costumes are called les Indiennes de Provence. These patterns are based on the designs of Cachemire fabrics, which were brought back by Marco Polo from his travels in the East. The production has been mechanised and new lines marketed in recent years. The most well-known stores are Souleiado and Les Olivades, which sell the traditional full skirts with quilted borders, along with a wide range of table linen, lavender bags and so on. These are pretty pricey, but make excellent souvenirs. It is this visual essence of Provence that Christian Lacroix has captured in his haute couture designs, bringing a blast of the Midi sun onto the catwalks.
La Fete
In many small villages, and even larger towns, you may be surprised to find makeshift barriers blocking entry to some streets. You cross them at your peril, since what is happening is a lacher des taureaux, where athletic and daring young men chase bulls through the streets.
Other, more peaceful, fetes are common throughout the summer, providing an excuse to wear the traditional costumes (the Arlesiennes are particularly beautiful), dance the farandole to the sound of pipes and drums, and enjoy the cool of the evening. The scented air, perfumed with thyme, rosemary and lavender drifting from the garrigues and the incessant chirping of the cigales and crickets are the very essence of Provence.
Nimes
The Romans were not the first people to colonise the South of France, although it is they who have left their mark most visibly on the area. In 600 BC Greek merchants from Asia Minor came prospecting along the coast and, spying a deep inlet, dropped anchor. Their commander Protis went ashore to visit the chief of the local Ligurian tribe and found himself at a banquet at which the chief’s daughter was to choose a husband from the assembled warriors. Princess Gyptis presented the cup to the handsome stranger and brought him, as a dowry, a hill overlooking the bay. Here the Greeks built a village that they named Massalia (the present Marseilles) and, over the next four centuries converted the inlet into a port from where they traded as far a field as Iceland and Africa. They established trading posts at Arles, Nice (Nike), Antibes (Antipolis), Agde and la Ciotat. Further west they cleared the coast and planted fruit orchards and olive groves. Massalia became a flourishing republican city-state.
Such prosperity aroused the envy of the native Ligurians and recently arrived Celts. In the 2ndC Massalia called on Rome for help and this was to mark the beginning of the end for the Greeks. In three years of bitter fighting the Romans were able to clear the area of insurgents and in 122 Transalpine Gaul was established, with Aix and Narbonne as local provincial capitals and Massalia as an autonomous republic. By 145 the Roman allies had become the masters and Massalia declined as Roman cities such as Nimes grew and flourished.
When Octavius defeated Antony and Cleopatra in Egypt (around 30 AD), he returned to Rome in triumph to be crowned Emperor Augustus Caesar. Many of his soldiers from the Egyptian campaign were rewarded with gifts of land in Transalpine Gaul and settled in Nîmes. They brought huge quantities of battle spoils with them and built themselves a fine town, which was to prosper until the end of the 2nd C. They took as their emblem the crocodile chained to a palm tree. The right to this symbol was revived under King Francis I and you can still see it, on studs set into the street, and a modern fountain in the old town, and in many other places.
Nîmes gets its name from Nemasus, the spirit that was supposed to live in the spring supplying water to the town. This spring is now incorporated into the 18thC Jardins de la Fontaine. A more modern corruption of the name gives us “denim”. From the 16th C Nîmes had a flourishing textile industry, and it was here that the fabric, which was later to clothe the world, was created and known as Bleu de Nimes.
In recent years there has been a vast campaign to clean up Nîmes and display its Roman heritage to best advantage. The town has spread rapidly and impressive new boulevards have been laid out connecting the centre with the ring road. A local artist, Martial Raysse, has been commissioned to redesign several squares and the town generally is striving to create a new “look”. The modernisation has been quite sensitive, however, and Nîmes still has the atmosphere of a sleepy regional centre with some unsurpassed Roman monuments.
Les Arènes
This amphitheatre, built in 50 AD is 20th largest of the 70 which remain. It is wonderfully preserved because it was very early on converted into a fortress. In Roman times it could accommodate 22,000 spectators, and the total length of seating was over five and a half miles. Today the arena is still a place of entertainment. In the summer the Feria is held a festival of bullfighting. Sometimes there is a corrida dans les regles de l’art but more usually it is a course á la cocarde, where a rosette has to be snatched from between the bull’s horns. In addition there are rock concerts and theatre performances. In the winter, the arena is covered with a temporary roof to enable it to be used for cultural and sporting events. When the roof is in place you will have a guided tour of the inside, but at other times you will do the tour yourself, so some general remarks on arenas will probably be useful.
The word “arena” simply means “sand” in Latin: the sand was used to cover up the blood between fights. The more technical term is “Amphitheatre”, since an arena is made up of two joined “Theatres” and thus an arena is always oval in shape. (It is never correct to call it a Colosseum, unless you are in Rome!)
All Roman towns worth their salt had a Forum with its temples and administrative buildings, Baths and a Theatre, Circus and/or Amphitheatre. The shows were sponsored by local dignitaries and were free (pane et circencis). The fights could be between gladiators, gladiators pitted against wild animals, or simply between the animals themselves. In Nîmes they would not have used expensive exotic animals like lions, but the local bulls, wolves and bears. The gladiator’s school at Nîmes was famous even in Rome.
If you can find your way up to the top level you have a magnificent view of the ensemble. The zigzag route, which you will have taken, was designed to allow 22,000 people to enter and leave the arena in a mere ten minutes and avoided the different classes of spectator from having to mix. Each spectator had a ticket indicating the number of his seat and which entrance arch he was to use. The Roman numerals are still visible on the outside of the arches. The main entrance was at the North end and can be recognised from the carved bulls that decorate it. Slaves would be assigned the top seats, whilst ordinary citizens would occupy the middle section. The consuls and local bigwigs sat on the lower level, the best seats being those facing away from the sun. Here, at the end of a fight all eyes would turn to the consul, who would indicate with his thumb whether the vanquished gladiator should live or die. Thumb up and he was spared, thumb down and the victor would plunge his sword or trident into his victim’s chest. The crowd would roar their opinion depending on the quality of the fight and the “thumb” would generally reflect their verdict.
The whole show was a lengthy affair and vendors of sweetmeats (Roman popcorn!) would come around during the intervals. At the same time perfume and incense would be burned to cover up the smells. The original floor of the arena was made of wood. The animals were kept in cages under this floor, and would be brought up in lifts when they were to fight. This system has been excavated in Rome although it is not visible here in Nîmes.
From your vantage point you can look out over the old town. You should be able to spot a tower on the hill. This is the Tour Magne, an octagonal structure that was part of the ramparts encircling Nîmes in Roman times. It was built by Augustus in 15AD and incorporated into the town’s fortifications. It is 98 ft high and consisted of three levels, which could be reached by an outside staircase. It may in fact have been a trophy, similar to La Turbie near Nice. The tower is now hollow, as a result of an unsuccessful treasure hunt in 1601. Nostradamus had predicted that a gardener would discover great wealth if he excavated the tower. A man called Traucat obtained permission from the king and started digging, but finally had to suspend his operations as the tower was in danger of collapse. You can now climb the Tower inside, up 140 vertiginous steps, to admire the view from the top.
When you leave the Arena, take a walk through the old town and point out the Crocodile Fountain by Martial Raysse in the Place du Marche. Your next stop is the Maison Carree.
The Maison Carrée
A quick look will tell you that it is not square, and was obviously never a house! In fact it is probably the most perfectly preserved temple in existence. It was built by Agrippa in 5 AD and dedicated to his sons Caius and Lucius. If you look at the tympanum over the entrance you can see the holes made to hold the original bronze letters of the inscription.
People always want to rush inside, but there is absolutely nothing to see. So gather them up somewhere out of the noise and in the shade and get them to think about the structure and function of a Classical temple. First of all, it was not a church. Not until the coming of Christianity did people gather together inside a building to worship. The pagan temples were sanctuaries, containing a massive statue of the god and only accessible to the priests and priestesses serving the cult.
The temple is a rectangular building whose proportions are calculated on strictly classical principles. There are six columns at the front and back and eleven along the sides, a ratio that is more interesting visually than simply doubling the number of columns used on the short sides. The main body of the building, the cella, occupies the enclosed space between seven columns, leaving four by six (counting the corner columns twice) for the open vestibule or pronaos. The columns are topped with Corinthian capitals. This very decorated style was the one preferred by the Romans, whereas the Greeks considered it to be over elaborate and never used it. Generally however, the harmonious proportions, together with the elegant fluted columns, the delicate frieze and cornice indicate a strong Hellenic influence.
The temple is constructed on a base more than 16 feet high. (Note that you are standing on the original Roman level of the city, which has risen over centuries of destruction and rebuilding). The pronaos is reached by a flight of 15 steps. The number was calculated so that if you step onto the first step with your right foot you will arrive at the pronaos on the same foot. This was where the faithful would bring their offerings to the god.
The Maison Carrée has passed through many vicissitudes and it is a wonder that it has survived intact. It has been used successively as a town hall, a private residence, a stable and a monastery church. Louis XIV considered dismantling it and re-erecting it at Versailles. It now belongs to the town, which uses it for exhibitions of varying quality.
The brand new building opposite is the Carrée d’Art. Designed by the British architect Norman Foster it contains the Modern Art Museum, a mediatheque and artists’ studios.
As you walk towards the Jardins de la Fontaine you are leaving the area of the Roman Capitol, from where the Via Domitiana continued to Spain. There is a not very good bust of Antonius Pius pointing the way, but don’t worry if you miss it!
More interesting is the recently redesigned Place d’Assas, which Martial Raysse has embellished with various statues and emblematic messages about Nîmes. He uses the theme of water and dry stone, so intrinsic to the town, which regularly suffers disastrous flooding as the water pours off the garrigue after heavy rainfall. The giant heads represent Nemasus and Nemasa – the so-called male and female principles of the town and this idea is carried on in some rather sexist imagery in the two figures playing with the water. The woman is turned in on herself and represents night, whilst the man receives the water in his outstretched arms and thus represents daylight openness and creativity!
Nîmes was considerably enlarged and embellished in the 18thC and the Boulevard Gambetta, along which you walk to reach the Jardins de la Fontaine, follows the line of the old fortifications, which had been moved further North. The classical gardens were laid out between 1744 and 1755 following the plans of a military engineer called Mareschal. The formal arrangement of terraces and fountains was severely criticized at the time, but today it is a pleasant place to stroll, watch the men playing petanque and relax with an ice cream whilst more energetic souls climb up the Tour Magne! To the left, are the ruins of the so-called Temple of Diana, actually the remains of a group of buildings, which stood near the original Nemasus spring.
Le Pont du Gard
Le Pont du Gard is one of the most impressive Roman constructions anywhere. Standing in completely unspoiled natural surroundings, it straddles the Gardon River as it has done unperturbedly for almost 2,000 years.
In 19BC Agrippa decided that the spring of Nemasus was no longer sufficient to supply the requirements of Nîmes. He therefore decided to construct an aqueduct to bring water from the river Eure near Uzes. It covered a distance of 50 km, and ran through a tunnel, along the top of a wall, cut into trenches and, in the case of the Pont du Gard, over a river valley. The difference in altitude between Nîmes and Uzes is only 17 metres, which gives a slope of 34 cm per kilometre, falling more steeply just before the valley in order to reduce the height of the bridge. The maximum daily flow (44 million gallons) provided 100 gallons per inhabitant.
Whenever Nîmes came under siege the aqueduct was breached and by the 9thC the watercourse had become blocked by lime deposits and the local people began to take the stone blocks to use in their own buildings (you can still see lots of stone walls in the area which have obviously been built in this way).
The Pont du Gard is a masterpiece of precision engineering, built with no mortar using stone blocks weighing up to six tons apiece; the structure is sufficiently elastic to have withstood subsidence, and the Mistral. The water channel, through which you can walk, is carried 160 ft over the river valley by the topmost of three tiers of arches, certain of the covering stones were left off to ventilate the watercourse. This is supported by two lower levels and the road bridge was added in the 18thC.
The stone was lifted into position using a combination of block and tackle, a giant human treadmill and goats as auxiliaries, the blocks were then held together with iron clamps. The stones which stick out from the surface and the ridges on the piers were used as supports for the wooden scaffolding and were left, not only to facilitate maintenance work, but also as a decorative element.
A visit to the Pont du Gard used to be a must for French journeymen masons as they travelled round the country and many of them have left their names and hometowns carved on the stonework. You can also see marks of the “this side up” variety left on individual stones in the arches by the original builders; FRS III – FRONS SINISTRA, front side left number three, for example.
Arles
Arles, situated on the Grand Rhone – the westerly arm of the river – was already a trading post in the 6th C.BC when the Greeks of Marseilles settled here. In the 2nd C BC the Romans built a major ship canal linking Marseilles directly with Arles and the Rhone.
In 49 BC the Golden Age of Arles began when Caesar founded a colony for his Sixth Legion, transferring some of Marseille’s territory to Arles. The republic had sided with Pompey during the Roman Civil War and was decimated by Caesar’s army. Marseille’s loss was Arles’s gain. The town was restructured on the model of a Roman garrison town, divided into quarters by the Cardo (rue de l’Hotel de Ville) and the Decumanus (rue de la Calade). The former town wall had to be dismantled to make way for the Forum, Theatre and Amphitheatre.
In the 4thC the Emperor Constantine came to Arles and ordered a bridge to be built over the Rhone. Situated as it was on the via Domitiana (linking Spain and Italy) Arles became one of the busiest market towns of the South. In addition the town had a Roman Imperial mint, and was a manufacturing centre for textiles, arms, gold and silverwork and of course, produced wine and olive oils.
Prosperity brought political importance. Constantine built himself a palace where, in 314 he held the first Council of Christian bishops. Arles became the capital of Gaul and an archiepiscopal see (St Augustine was consecrated first bishop of England here in 597).
However Arles was constantly under threat from the ever-increasing migrations of Germanic tribes. After three sieges the town was finally overrun by the Ostrogoths and Franks in the 5th and 6th centuries.
The decline of Arles began in the 8th C. and continued in the 9th even though the town was by then capital of the Kingdom of Arles which included Burgundy and large parts of Provence. Arles was first annexed into the Holy Roman Empire (in 1178 the Emperor Barbarossa was crowned King of Arles in the newly completed Cathedral of St Trophime) , and then to the County of Provence, which was itself annexed to the French crown in 1482.
Within the Kingdom of France, Arles found itself ousted in political importance by Aix, and in commercial importance by Marseille. The arrival of the railways in the 19th C made river traffic obsolete and dealt a further severe blow to trade. Today Arles is a provincial centre handling the agricultural produce of the Camargue and attracting large numbers of tourists. It is, nevertheless, one of the more sophisticated of the small Provencal towns. The fashion designer Christian Lacroix was born here and his creations reflect strong influences of Provence. This, together with the summer festival of photography, has done much to put Arles on the map.
The Roman Theatre
The theatre was built between 27 and 25 BC under Augustus, and was able to contain 12,000 spectators, but it has unfortunately suffered great damage – first from early Christians who disapproved of theatres and destroyed many of the statues. Then, between the 5th and 9th centuries it was used as a quarry, with the stones being taken away to build churches and houses.
You will have to employ all your powers of description if you are going to give an impression of what it was originally like. If you sit on the temporary seating, which is erected for shows in the summer, you are looking at the Roman stage. The few remaining columns and assorted bits of masonry are all that is left of the impressive wall, which formed the backdrop of a Roman theatre. Unlike the Greeks, who, not having discovered the technology of the arch, were obliged to build their theatres by cutting the seating area (cavea) into a hillside, the Romans could build an entirely free-standing structure. The advantage of the Greek model, however, is that it generally produced perfect acoustics; the Roman builders were obliged to design a multitude of features to improve the acoustics of their theatres.
The stage area was covered by a sloping wooden roof, which acted as a sounding board as did the hollow doors on stage and large empty vases strategically placed between the seats. The backdrop itself consisted of three tiers of columns, niches and statues and was faced with marble and mosaic in bright colours. In this theatre a colossal statue of Augustus occupied the central niche, the head and torso of which are now in the local museum. Stage machinery and effects were very elaborate. Scene changes slid in through the wings, descended from above, rose through trap doors or were mounted on three‑sided structures, which pivoted between the columns. Stage effects included thunder and lightening, smoke and apparitions. At the beginning and end of the performance a 13 ft curtain was raised and lowered, using lead counterweights, from a slot in the ground between the stage and the orchestra (still partly visible).
One or more doors through the backdrop to the backstage area. Here the actors donned their elaborate costumes and headdresses. They were masked, and the masks were designed to amplify the actor’s voice. Behind the dressing rooms was a portico surrounding a garden where games and less formal entertainments took place.
The cavea was very often equipped with a vellum. This was a canvas structure, suspended from poles, and worked with ropes and pulleys by sailors in order to protect the spectators from the violence of the sun.
The Arena
A 17thC engraving of Arles shows a snug spiral of buildings coiled around and within the arena like a snail shell. In all there were three churches and 212 houses. In 1830 the whole lot was cleared, leaving only the 12thC towers on the outer walls.
This arena was built in the 1st century AD and is therefore contemporary with that of Nîmes. If you are doing an inside visit, consult the Nîmes section for general details.
St Trophime
The earliest churches on this site dated from the 5th and 8th centuries. The present Cathedral was built in the 12thC and named after the first bishop of Arles who was a cousin and disciple of St Paul. The most striking element is the West Portal, completed in 1190, twelve years after the coronation of Barbarossa. Echoing a Roman arch, it is a perfect example of Provencal Romanesque architecture which, compared with Chartres, seems plump and primitive. This comparison highlights the fact that in the early Middle Ages the political and artistic centre of gravity had shifted to Northern France. The lively depiction of the Last Judgement is surmounted by the figure of Christ surrounded by the attributes of the four Evangelists: the Lion of St Mark, the Ox of St Luke, the Eagle of St John and the Winged Man of St Matthew.
The cloisters are the most famous in Provence and are richly decorated with sculpted figures and fabulous monsters.
Vincent Van Gogh in Arles
Vincent Van Gogh lived in Arles for a short period before his suicide in 1890, but it was undoubtedly during this period that he developed the personal style that has made him so famous. The explosion of violent colours was not only an image of his tortured soul, but found its inspiration in the Provencal landscape with its intense light and vibrant tones.
Van Gogh had been through a bad patch before he moved to Arles. Living in Paris and mingling with the Impressionist painters didn’t do him much good and he spent too much time in cafes drinking absinthe. This drink, which the French government banned in 1922, had a particularly bad effect on epileptics, of which Van Gogh was one.
In January 1888 he decided to break away from Paris and to settle down in Arles. The reason for his move had to do with his obsession with Japanese paintings, which, since the Great Exhibition in London of 1862, had been all the rage among artists. For Vincent, Arles and Provence were the Japan of Europe. “The almond and peach blossoms in the little towns of Provence are a Japanese dream”, he wrote in a letter to his brother Theo.
Things started well: after a few weeks in a hotel opposite the station, he found a house in the Place Lamartine, just outside the city walls. Both buildings were destroyed during World War II, but there are now plans to rebuild the “Yellow House”, incorporating studios for local artists. Vincent started to paint madly – mainly outside in the garrigue, the fields and orchards, and along the Rhone. In the short period he spent in Arles he created more than 200 paintings and 100 drawings. Then in October Gaugin joined him. The great friendship deteriorated rapidly and during the evening of December 23, Gaugin decided to pack his bags. In a fit of despair, Vincent attacked him with a razor, and then, turning his anger against himself, cut off the lobe of his left ear. He delivered this macabre specimen personally to Rachel, his favourite prostitute!
Under pressure from his friends, he decided to enter an asylum near St Remy (St Paul de Mausole), where he painted the famous irises amongst other works. News of his brother Theo’s financial difficulties further affected his mental condition. Theo had supported him financially and morally throughout his life, and the threat of losing this support led to a suicide attempt (drinking a bottle of turpentine). Vincent left the South of France and spent the last months of his life under the supervision of Doctor Gachet, an art lover, in Auvers-sur-0ise, where he killed himself in July 1890.
Avignon
The song Sur le Pont d’Avignon should be familiar to everyone, and although the bridge is now half destroyed, leaving little room for dancing, you will get a sight of it from where the bus drops you. It is called the Pont St Benezet in honour of the shepherd boy from the Vivarais who was told in a vision to build a bridge over the Rhone at Avignon. Not surprisingly, people laughed at him until the angel re-appeared and helped him to move a huge boulder into the river. Impressed by the miracle, the people joined in the building, and the bridge at Avignon was the first stone one in the entire region, all the others, even in Arles, being made of wood. This story is one of many Provencal legends that endow children with miraculous strength or courage. The little chapel at the end is dedicated to St Nicholas and used to be the tollhouse.
The great days of Avignon were in the 14th and 15thC when it became the city of the Popes. At this time the struggle f or supremacy between Church and State was becoming acute, and the French monarchy, jealous of its rights, was bound to fall out with Rome. Philip the Fair asserted his right to appoint bishops and to tax the clergy, whereupon the Pope excommunicated the king, along with laymen who levied such taxes as well as clerics who paid them. Tempers rose to boiling point and, although Philip failed to obtain the abdication of Pope Boniface VIII, the emotional upset was the death of him. Likewise his successor died very shortly after his elevation ‑ there were those who said that he had been poisoned. Things haven’t changed that much perhaps!
In those days, the election of a Pope was a political affair. This system caused so much trouble that later the “conclave” system was instituted whereby the Cardinals are actually locked into the Sistine Chapel until they have come to a decision. So it was that in 1305 French influence brought about the election of the Archbishop of Bordeaux as Pope Clement V. The following six Popes were also French. There was so much animosity towards the French in the Vatican that the new Pope understandably felt he would be safer in his native land. The County of Venaissin, where Avignon was situated, belonged to the Holy See, and he installed himself there. The subsequent Popes established themselves in the Bishop’s palace and then bought the city from the Countess of Provence. Avignon was transformed. The Palace was enlarged into the vast edifice we see today, and filled with works of art.
The city gained enormous prestige as the nobility flocked to pay homage to the Pope. Cardinals, Prelates and secretaries built palatial homes, and Avignon became famous for its luxury and gaiety, for its festivals and processions and also for its crime and immorality. Petrarch wrote “Avignon is an abode of sorrows, the shame of mankind, a sink of vice”. Both the papacy and the King imposed ever higher, and extremely unpopular taxation and the experiment began to go sour. In 1377 Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome. Not surprisingly his successor was an Italian and this so infuriated the French that they elected a second, or Anti-Pope, who set up shop once more in Avignon. The Great Schism lasted until 1403, a period during which the two popes mutually hurled abuse and constantly excommunicated, each other. The Holy Roman Emperor prudently supported Rome, whilst the French backed the Pope at Avignon. The last alternate pope left Avignon in 1403 and the city returned to the quiet life, increased in status and prosperity and with, as a testimony to its moment of glory, the magnificent Palais des Papes.
If you walk up to the Rocher des Doms you will be standing on the site of the original Greek, later Roman settlement. You have a magnificent view across the river of the square keep built by Philip the Fair to fortify his end of the Pont St Benezet. The Fort St Andre was built later by the French kings to keep an eye on their papal neighbours.
Avignon comes alive in the summer during the annual “Festival dlAvignonll. Begun in 1947, it was the first of the summer cultural festivals, which are nowadays held in all large Provencal towns. Avignon is the most prestigious, however, and is a must for professionals of the performing arts. The official festival offers major productions of opera, dance and theatre in such spectacular locations as the courtyard of the Palais des Papes and the vast “off” festival has everything from street theatre, mime and jazz avant-garde experimental productions in tiny improvised venues.
Aix en Provence
Once the proud capital of the County of Provence, Aix still has an air of importance and self‑sufficiency. You would never guess that it is situated on the doorstep of Marseilles, France’s second city. The Cours Mirabeau, (the Champs Elysées of Aix) makes towns like Nîmes and even Avignon look provincial. Famous mainly for its University, established in 1413, the Cezanne connection and the famous Opera and Music Festival, Aix still attracts many visitors to its Thermal Baths, which were the reason for its foundation in the first place. Principally an administrative city, Aix has no particular industries apart from being the centre for almond confectionery. The most local souvenir is without any doubt the Calissons d’Aix, small lozenge shaped white sweets made of almond paste, which are packed in big white lozenge shaped boxes that cost a fortune.
The origins of Aix go back to the Ligurians who discovered the hot springs in the area. In 124 BC the Roman Consul Sextius conquered and destroyed the town and built a new one around the Thermal Baths, calling it Aquae Sextiae which, when pronounced by someone who doesn’t speak Latin sounds like Aix. Twenty years later Teutonic warriors from the Baltic, complete with wives, children, dogs, horses, cattle, etc., invaded Provence. At the foot of the Montagne St Victoire, just outside Aix, General Marius stopped them. In a bloody battle 100,000 barbarians died and the same number were taken prisoner. Since then Marius has been the most popular Provencal name.
The Golden Age of Aix was in the 15thC under the reign of Good King Rene. A highly intelligent man, fluent in five languages, a musician, artist and poet with an interest in sciences, he turned Aix into a magnificent city using Italian masons and Flemish artists. After a dark period following the annexation of Provence to the French crown, Aix prospered again in the 17thC. Magnificent town mansions were built and the medieval city wall was pulled down and replaced by avenues, of which the most famous is the Cours Mirabeau.
Mirabeau was the enfant terrible of the French Revolution. The son of a rich nobleman he married into an even richer Aix family. A womaniser whose ugly complexion did not appear to cramp his style, Mirabeau was famous for his scandalous lifestyle. He spent his money so fast that his father-in-law stopped all funds and his own father had him sent to prison several times for emptying the family coffers.
At the dawn of the Revolution he threw himself into politics. An excellent speaker with a volcanic temperament (his nickname was Hurricane) he was elected to the Third Estate of the Estates General. Mirabeau defended the idea of a Constitutional Monarchy and was against the Terror and the indiscriminate use of the guillotine. Ill and burned out, he died in 1791 and was buried with great pomp in the Pantheon in Paris, only to be thrown out again when it was discovered soon after his death that he had seen Marie-Antoinette in 1790 to ask her for a loan!
Walking on the Cours Mirabeau from the Place Charles de Gaulle (better known as La Rotonde) towards the Hotel Poet on a hot day you will appreciate the shady double avenue of plane trees lining both sides of the road. The Cours is bordered by a number of beautiful mansions of the 17th and 18th C. Spaced along it there are three fountains: the Fontaine des 9 Canons (1691), the Fontaine d’Eau Thermale with its warm water (34 degrees) and the Fontaine du Roi Rene, with the king holding a bunch of grapes. It is supposed to remind you that it was he who introduced the muscat grape into this area.
But it is not the architectural features that make the Cours Mirabeau so special, but the people who walk along it or sit on the cafe terraces. It is where the young and beautiful show themselves and there is always a nice mixture of University students, fashion conscious locals and tourists.
With your back to the Rotonde, the old town is to your left. Old Aix is a town of little squares, which are all extremely picturesque. If you are there before 12 o’clock you might find yourself suddenly in the middle of a market, displaying all the deliciously fresh local produce of Provence. One of the most beautiful squares is the Place de l’Hotel de Ville which is dominated by the 16th C clock tower. If you have enough time you might like to follow the Circuit Paul Cezanne, a walking tour through the old town that shows you the most important places linked with the artist’s life. Brochures describing the walk are available from the tourist office. This is the only visible sign left to commemorate the artist who was born in Aix and, after a formative spell in Paris, spent his productive years here where he died in 1906.
Between Aix and Nice
Driving East from Aix you will cross through some spectacular scenery. First comes the imposing whitish bulk of the Montagne St Victoire, where farmers still turn up human bones whilst ploughing ‑ relics of the 2nd C.BC battle against the Teutons. The Mountain was a favourite subject for Cezanne and he painted it again and again in different moods.
You continue through a sweeping landscape, punctuated by cypress tress, olives and woods of evergreen oak and pine. Here and there you will see a 1INasn, the traditional solidly built farmhouses. The more barren areas,, covered with a scrubby undergrowth of aromatic plants, with stunted evergreen oaks and bare patches of rock (more common in Western Provence) is what is known as the garrigue. It is the home of snakes and rabbits, and hums night and day with crickets and cigales.
This type of landscape is obviously very susceptible to forest fires and you will notice large areas that have recently been devastated by fire. This is particularly disastrous because the excessive summer heat means that the growing season is very short. The eco-system is fragile and burned areas take years to regenerate.
Strict regulations have been devised in an attempt to reduce these annual tragedies. Open fires and even smoking outside is forbidden in the summer months, and the undergrowth must be regularly cut down around inhabited buildings. There is a suspicion that, since the local fire fighting teams are paid on an ad hoc basis, they are not above starting a fire pour arrondir les f ins du mois or to settle old scores. Be that as it may, sophisticated fire fighting techniques are used, including the Canadairs – planes which take up tons of water from the Etang de Berre and dump it on the flames. This is a hazardous operation – and not just for the pilots. A persistent bit of Provencal folklore maintains that a swimmer was once scooped up and dropped with the water onto a raging fire. Apparently his charred remains were only discovered by chasseurs the following autumn
The next range of hills on your right is the Massif de la Sainte Baume. You will see the imposing 13thC basilica and convent in the little village of St Maximin de la Sainte Baume on the plain. This was built to house the relics of St Mary Magdalen and St Maximin, who supposedly died here. According to Provencal tradition. Saint Martha, Mary Magdalen, Lazarus and various other holy people were set adrift in a boat without oars, sails or provisions by the wicked Jews of Jerusalem, together with Sara their black servant girl. Miraculously they fetched up at Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, where Sara remained, and has become the patron saint of the gypsies who celebrate her festival during their annual pilgrimages.
St Martha went to Tarascon, where she subdued the Tarasque, and St Maximin and Mary Magdalen came to this area. Mary Magdalen lived a life of prayer and meditation for thirty-three years in a cave (baoumo in Provencal) in the wood. When she was close to death she came down to the plain to receive the last rites from St Maximin. In due course he too died and was buried close to her. In the 8thC, the relics were hidden, to protect them from the invading Saracens, and their whereabouts were lost. They were not re-discovered until 1279, by Charles d’Anjou, who had been told in a dream to look for a flourishing fennel plant. He ordered the construction of the Basilica and the vast Dominican convent to be a suitable resting place for them.
Mary Magdalen’s relics have been transferred to the cave in the forest and the Sainte Baume is still a pilgrimage site, particularly on Whit Monday and traditionally associated with fertility. The custom used to be that engaged couples would build a little cairn on the path leading to the grotto, using as many stones as they hoped to have children.
As you leave Provence the Autoroute swings closer to the sea. Although you cannot yet see it, the signs to St Tropez, Ste Maxime and Juan les Pins tell you that you are entering a more fashionable area. The rocks turn red as you pass the Massif des Maures and the Esterel. If you have time to drive along this short stretch of coast you will pass a succession of beauty spots and view points over the indented coastline and little bays. In any case, the parasol pines soon give way to palm trees, and the Mediterranean appears as you sweep along the coast, past Cannes to Nice.