About La Provence, France
| The French region called "Provence" is somewhat ill defined from
the very large Roman province "provincia gallia narbonensis", which
reached from the lake of Geneva in the North to Narbonne and the Spanish border
in the South. Here two pictures of Uzès in the Gard |
  |
Provence is a patchwork of many different influences, starting with the Phoceans who founded Marseille and imported Greek civilization to this part of
the Mediterranean as long ago as 600 B.C. Aix was founded in 122 B.C. by the
Romans, whose civilization had a much greater impact on the entire region. Under
Roman rule, Nimes and Arles reached the peak of their glory around the year 5
A.D., and peace was ensured until the fall of the Roman Empire in 476. Provence
then underwent many invasions at the hand of the Visigoths, Saxons, Moors etc.,
until the Holy Roman Empire annexed the region in the 10th century, allowing,
however, the Counts of Provence to retain their independence. The popes and
anti-Popes resided in Avignon throughout the 14th century until Provence became
part of France in 1486 under the reign of Louis XI. Avignon and the Comtat
Venaissin had to wait until the French Revolution before joining France in 1791.
Which explains all that Roman architecture, amphitheatres, the arenas,
commemorative arches and aqueducts. At the end of the 15th century, Gothic,
Renaissance and later styles of architecture were introduced to Provence via
northen France.
Today it is much smaller comprising the departments 34 (Herault), 30 (Gard),
13 (Bouche du Rhone), Var, Alpes de Haute Provence and 84 (Vaucluse) being the
most charming part in Southern France with its fields of poppies and lavender
basking in the sun, the lure of street markets brimming with ripe fruit and hand
picked vegetables, bucolic landscapes of olive groves, orchards and vineyards,
sheltering below stark mountain ranges from that notorious Mistral wind.
Provence is synonymous with wine, olive oil, basil, rosemary and thyme, flowery
fabrics, melons, honey, almonds and home made jams...
|
