The secrets of Nîmes

Nîmes is a 2000 years old city that is beautiful mysterious and charming!  Here are some of its secrets divulged!

The coat of arms:  a crocodile chained to a palm tree surmounted by a laurel wreath.  It symbolizes the conquest of Egypt by Octavius who defeated Anthony and Cleopatra's fleet and ensured the Roman control of the Empire.  A coin was struck in Nîmes to celebrate the event with the symbol of the crocodile which in time became the coat of arms of the Nîmes.

The origins of denim:  Nîmes was famous for textile manufacturing in the seventeenth century with trades mainly in woollen cloth and silk.  "Serge de Nîmes", a very strong cloth due to its oblique weaving with at least two threads.  Nîmes negotiated exports of the new fabric died in the new blue color (Bleu de Gènes) invented in Italy, with New York traders.  This resulted in the anglicisation of the color Bleu de Gènes into Blue Jeans.  In the 19th century, Levi Strauss, who made clothing for miners, bought by chance a batch of the cloth de Nimes which became "denim". 

The square house is not really a square!: an ancient roman temple built in the first century AD, the square house is the only fully preserved temple of the ancient world.  While more rectangular than square, the square house has had its name since the 16th century.  In old French, any rectangle with 4 right-angles was described as square.

The diverse uses of the roman amphitheater:

Built at the end of the 1st century AD, the amphitheater is one of the largest and best preserved.  After the Roman period, it escaped demolition as it was occupied continuously.  It was converted into a fortress in the 6th century, a settlement for the Knights of Nîmes, workshops and warehouses in the 14th century, and today it is used for numerous events, including bullfights, conferences, concerts and sports events.

The history of Aigues Mortes and the destiny of France

The destiny of the Kingdom of France is closely binding with the history of the town of Aigues Mortes. 

Geoffroy de Montdragon, one of Louis IX's knights, was sent to Camargue by the king of France in 1240 to purchase land from Psalmody Abbey.  On this marshy land King Louis set about building the town of Aigues Mortes, the only royal port with access to the Mediterranean. 

Several years later, when Louis IX recovered from a grave illness, he vowed that he would set off on a crusade.  The small Camargue village was completely transformed as the first lookout towers were built and the town fortified

The royal port of Aigues-Mortes continued to develop and became the point of departure for the seventh and eighth crusades.

Sur le pont d'Avignon

Sur le pont d'Avignon l'on y danse, l'on y danse.  Sur le pont d'Avignon, l'on y danse tous en rond...

The bridge was built in the thirteenth century, was often damaged by the raging flood waters of the Rhône river, as well as during wars.  Repaired and rebuilt again and again, it was abandoned in the 17th century.  

According to the legend, a shepherd by the name of Benezet came down from the mountain and told the archbishop that God has appeared to him and has asked him to build a bridge on the Rhône river.  The archbishop did not believe his story and told Benezet that he would only believe him if he could lift a rock that thirty men could not move and put it on the banks of the river.

Benezet was able to complete the archbishop's challenge and thus a bridge and a chapel in honor of st Benezet were built.

Le tambour d'Arcole

Strolling in the beautiful small Lubéron village of Cadenet, one will get to the small plaza and notice the statue of the drummer of Arcole.

André Estienne (1777-1838) was the hero of the Napoleon war that took place on November 17, 1796 against the Austrians in Arcole, province of Veronna, Italy.

Born in Cadenet, this courageous young man joined at the age of 14 the regimen of the Lubéron. In 1796, he followed the Napoleon troups to Nice for the Campaign in Italy.  In Arcole, the troups were blocked by the Alpone river.

The little drummer boy, along with a few soldiers, swam accross the river with the drum on his head. Once on the other side of the river, he beat the drum so loudly that the enemies thought they were surrounded and they retreated allowing the Napoleon armies am easy win.  André Estienne received the silver sticks of honor from Napoleon personally.

A statue in Bronze was erected in the plaza of his village. 

During World War II, the statue was hidden by one of the villagers on the night of September 4 to 5, 1943 in order to protect it from the German founderies. 

L'Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue

L'Isle-sur-la-sorgue is the French Venise. The town is set around and on the stream "la Sorgue".  

The waters of this stream fournished the moving forces and natural source of energy for numerous factories and industries.  The waters were most probably first used for wheat mills. Then, in the thirteenth century, textile factories used the mills to weave comforters.  

Towards the middle of the 19th century, there were 17 silk and wool factories were very active and employed 297 workers. 

The road of lavander

Lavender is a popular flower in France and is used quite a bit.  Of course it is quite used for decoration and in linen closets but it has also a few other benefits: its scent is used in perfume, its essence has quite a few medicinal and cleansing benefits and the flower and buds are used in cooking and teas.

Provence is quite known for its lavender but so is the region of the Lubéron.

The roads of lavender in that region winds through fields upon fields, hills and valleys covered with the purple flower.

The high season is towards the end of June and early July.

Carcassonne: a history book!

Carcassonne is a beautiful fortified city that is part of the Unesco World Heritage.

The history of the old city dates back to the pre-roman period with the first occupation being around 6th century BC.   During the third or fourth century, a fortification wall was built.  It came under many attacks by the Franks but resisted. It fell however under the Arabs and was eventually delivered by Pepin le Bref.  In the 12th century, the castle was built and in the 13th century, it acquired its medieval fortifications.

Due to its reputation of impregnability, it was never attacked during the Hundred Years' War and it was used as an arsenal depot during the revolution.

Carcassonne is also of exceptional importance because of the lengthy restoration campaign undertaken by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century, one of the founders of the modern science of conservation.

Le chateau des Milandes: the former residence of Josephine Baker

Chateau des Milandes is in the middle of the Dordogne valley, surrounded by a few houses, a cathedral and many fields, hills and lush greenery.  

 The castle was first built in 1489

By François de Caumont, lord of Castelnaud to please his wife who preferred to live in a romantic castle rather than in the feudal fortress of Castelnaud.

After the death of the death of the last owner, a descendant of François de Caumont, the castle was more or less left in a state of neglect until the 1900.  At that time a rich industrialist bought the castle and made many alterations to the interior and the façade by adding gothic style carvings and gargoyles.

He also planted magnolia trees which were fashionable then.

It was not until 1937, during a visit to the Périgord area that Josephine Baker saw the castle, fell in love with it and rented it then purchased it in 1947. The castle is now a museum to display outfits and memorabilia of the famous singer.

Only two years after purchasing the chateau, Ms Baker became the owner of almost the whole village and called it Le Village Du Monde. 

Rocamadour

.Rocamadour is a very famous village that welcomes millions of visitors every year.

Firstly because Rocamadour is an important pilgrimage destination, and has been for 1000 years. Built on the site of a shrine to a Madonna, the shrine became famous for its healing powers, and soon became a stop on the pilgrimage path to Santiago de Campostela.

The second reason is because of the beautiful and dramatic setting of the village, climbing up a cliff side.

Rocamadour is one of the Grand Sites of France.  The village consists of only one street that can be entered by one of the four gates.

The Grand Escalier (216 steps, once climbed by pilgrims on their knees) leads from the village to the sanctuaries. The sanctuaries include the Chapelle Notre Dame - home to the Black Madonna - and the basilica Saint-Sauveur; the Saint-Michel chapel; the Palace of the Bishops (Palais des Eveques) and three chapels.

Many notable people visited Rocamadour over the years, including St. Bernard, St. Dominic, St. Louis, King Louis XI, and possibly evenCharlemagne, on his way to battle the Moors in Spain.

The secret of Domme

Domme is a beautiful small bastide town in the Périgord Noir.  A small town of no more than a few hundred inhabitants during the high tourism season and fewer  than 100 inhabitants during the low season, it had a very eventful history especially during the Hundred Years' War.  This small town holds a sad secret, well hidden within the walls of one of its towers.  This small town held the jail that held 70 Templars captive.  

The Knight Templars were imprisoned from 1307 to 1318 during the trial against them. In the tours there remains hundreds of Templar graffiti that still bear witness to this time. 

The Templars used a code system involving series of geometric figures: the octagon represented the Grail, the triangle surmounted by a cross represented Golgatha, the square represented the Temple, and the circle represented the imprisonment.

The Templars used their nails and teeth that had fallen out due to diseases, to make these engravings.  

The Templars stayed in this dark cold tower until they all died from starvation, malnourishment and disease.  However the graffiti on the walls of their cell are proofs to their faith that never faultered!

Note:  visitors are not allowed to take pictures inside the tower.  Pictures in this blog were taken by Bernard Dupuy and published in the book Domme et son pays.

Life by the river: Limeuil as a perfect example

Until the end of the 18th century, rivers were the best means of transportation and as a result helped the economy of towns that border these rivers.  A perfect example from the Middle Ages is the town of Limeuil.

Perched high up on the hill for protection from invaders, Limeuil was a very important port especially that it was at the intersection of the Vézère and the Dordogne rivers.

The bridge on the left is over the Vézère river and the one on the right is over the Dordogne.

Its perfect location made the small town of Limeuil a bustling and lively small town where fishermen, merchants and farmers lived safely within the walls of the city.

Current entrance to the city through one of its four doors.

However, a bustling city came with some problems such as drunken sailors.  Young men who appeared to have abused alcohol, are required to stay in this "justice" house until they sobered up.

No town or village is complete without a church and Limeuil has at its top near the location of the château, a beautiful and simple church from the 12th century.

What century is this?!

Strolling through the streets of the city of Périgueux is better than flipping through a history book!  Within the city walls (literally) one can witness the vestiges of history that go back to the Roman times or 1st century AD:

The remains of the temple of Vésone

And the ancient city of Vesunna that is now protected by a beautiful museum designed by Jean Nouvel

Just around the corner one can bump into remains of the castle of Barrière which was built in the 12th century which was burned down during the War of Religion in 1575

A good example of the mixture of centuries, architecture and the intermingling of culture and history is 

The Gallo-roman wall that served as a foundation for the medieval house

One can go down a couple of streets and face a tower that remains from the city walls.

Or a rich merchant's house from the 15th century

Throughout the narrow streets of the medieval city, inhabitants and tourists meander and sit in cafés or shop at stores which occupy the ground floors of gorgeous, ancient buildings!

It is just a one of a kind, surreal experience!