Charles Binns - Landscape Photography, Nature Photography, Travel Photography

Provence

All images (c) Charles Binns - Landscape Photography, Nature Photography, Travel Photography.

Provence is a former Roman province and is now a region of southeastern France, located on the Mediterranean Sea adjacent to the Italian border. It is now part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur. The traditional region of Provence comprises the départements of Var, Vaucluse, and Bouches-du-Rhône in addition to parts of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Alpes-Maritimes. The region is so named because it was the first Roman province outside of the Italian region.

Provence has been inhabited since ancient times. It was known in ancient times as part of Narbonensis, inhabited by Ligurians and later Celts. The coastal strip was settled by Greeks and Phoenicians from around 600 BC onwards, with Marseilles becoming one of the great trading cities of the Mediterranean. It was progressively settled by the Romans from the 2nd century BC, eventually becoming a province of the Roman Empire. This gave it its name, from the Latin nostra provincia (our province), as Provence was one of the first areas conquered by Rome outside of Italy. Christianity arrived very early and the region was already extensively Christianised by the 3rd century AD, with numerous monasteries and churches being constructed. The area fared badly in the aftermath of the fall of the Roman Empire, suffering repeated invasions: Visigoths in the 5th century, Franks in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century, as well as repeated raids by Berber pirates and slavers. It subsequently passed into hands of the Counts of Toulouse as a fief of the Counts of Barcelona (later Kings of Aragon).

From 1032 to 1246 the county was part of the Holy Roman Empire. It became a fief of the French Crown from 1246, under the rule of the Angevin dynasty. Upon the death of Charles du Maine in 1481, Provence was inherited by Louis XI. It was definitively incorporated into the French royal domain in 1486. Significant enclaves existed within Provence for many years afterwards: Orange remained under the control of the House of Orange-Nassau until 1672; the Comtat Venaissin, centered on Avignon, was under Papal rule until 1791; and Nice and Menton were not added to Provence until as late as 1860.

Aix en Provence

Aix (Aquae Sextiae) was founded in 122 BC by the Roman consul Sextius Calvinus, who gave his name to its springs. In the 4th century AD it became the metropolis of Narbonensis Secunda. It was occupied by the Visigoths in 477. In the succeeding century, the town was repeatedly plundered by the Franks and Lombards, and was occupied by the Saracens in 731. Aix, which during the Middle Ages was the capital of the county of Provence, did not reach its zenith until after the 12th century, when, under the houses of Aragon and Anjou, it became an artistic centre and seat of learning.

Aix passed to the crown of France in 1487, and in 1501 Louis XII established there the parliament of Provence which existed until 1789.

The Cours Mirabeau, a wide thoroughfare, planted with double rows of plane-trees, bordered by fine houses and decorated by fountains, divides the town into two portions. It follows the line of the old city wall. The new town extends to the south and west, the old town with its wide but irregular streets and its old mansions dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries lies to the north.

The Cathedral of the Holy Saviour (Cathédrale Saint Sauveur), which mainly dates from the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries but is built on the emplacement of a Roman temple, is situated in this part of Aix. It is fronted by a richly decorated portal in Gothic style with elaborately carved doors, and is flanked on the north by an uncompleted tower. The interior contains tapestries from the 16th century, other works of art and a baptismal pool dating from the fourth century. The archbishop's palace (Palais de l'Archêveché) and a Romanesque cloister adjoin the cathedral on its south side. Just south of the Cours Mirabeau is the church of Saint-Jean-de-Malte. Dating from the 13th century, it contains some valuable pictures and the Musée Granet, which has recently undergone restoration and was host in 2006 to an important exhibition of the works of Cézanne to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his death.

The hôtel de ville, a building in the classical style of the middle of the 17th century, looks on to a picturesque square (Place de la Mairie). It contains some fine woodwork and a large library which includes many valuable manuscripts. At its side rises a handsome clock-tower erected in 1505.

Also on the Place de la Mairie is the former Corn Exchange (Halle de Grains). This 18th century building is ornately decorated and was designed by the Vallon architects.

Aix has thermal springs, remarkable for their heat as well as for containing lime and carbonic acid. The bathing establishment was built in 1705 near the site of the ancient baths of Sextius, of which vestiges still remain.

Aix is often referred to as the city of a thousand fountains. Among the more notable are the Fontaine des Quatre Dauphins (Fountain of the Four Dolphins), built in 1667 by Jean-Claude Rambot; Le bon Roi René's Fountain, built in the 19th century, surmounted by a statue of Roi René holding a bunch of Muscat grapes, which he introduced into Provence in the 15th century; the hot-water fountain dating back to 1734, which is covered in moss due to the 35°C (93°F) water; and the great fountain, from 1860, at La Rotonde, the large roundabout at the centre of town.

Antibes

Antibes is a resort town of southeastern France, on the Mediterranean Sea in the Cote d'Azur, located between Cannes and Nice. It is c. 20 km by rail southwest of Nice, and is situated on the east side of the Garoupe peninsula.

It was formerly fortified, but all the ramparts (save the Fort Carré, built by Vauban, and the ramparts along the sea coast), were demolished in the 1860s. A new town then rose outside the former defenses.

Antibes has one of the largest yacht marinas on the Cote d'Azur, built in the 1960s on the site of a Roman harbor. There is still a local fishing industry, much diminished from its size a century ago. It was formerly a site of perfume distilling; the surrounding country once produced an abundance of flowers. Perfume distillation is still carried out on a commercial scale in nearby Grasse.

The southern peninsula of Antibes is known as Cap d'Antibes. A bastion of wealth and exclusivity, it was the setting for F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night. The Hotel du Cap, called Hôtel des Étrangers in the novel, is still one of the most expensive and exclusive hotels in the world.

Below are some photographs of Fort Carre.

Nice

Nice (Nicaea) was founded in the 5th century BC by the Greeks of Massilia (Marseille) and received the name of Νικαία ("Nikaia") in honour of a victory over the neighbouring Ligurians (Nike being the Greek goddess of victory). It soon became one of the busiest trading stations on the Ligurian coast; but as a city it had an important rival in the Roman town of Cemenelum, which continued to exist as a separate city till the time of the Lombard invasions, and has left its ruins at Cimiez, which is now a quarter of Nice.

During the Middle Ages Nice had its share in the wars and disasters of Italy. As an ally of Pisa it was the enemy of Genoa, and both the King of France and the Emperor endeavoured to subjugate it; but in spite of all it maintained its municipal liberties. In the course of the 13th and 14th centuries it fell more than once into the hands of the Counts of Provence; and at length in 1388 the commune placed itself under the protection of the Counts of Savoy.

Nice has a distinct culture due to its unique history. The local language Niçard (Nissart) is an Occitan dialect, still spoken by a minority. Strong Italian and (less) Corsican influences make it less unintelligible than other non-extinct Provençal dialects that exist around.

Local food culture, which includes pissaladière, a pie with onions and anchovies paste; socca, a type of pancake made from chickpea flour; bouillabaisse and various fish soups; "Stockfish" (traditionally pronounced as "Stoquefiche" (French spelling) with special emphasis on the first "e"), farcis niçois, vegetables stuffed with breadcrumbs; and salade niçoise, a tomato salad with green peppers of the "Corne" breed, baked eggs, tuna or anchovies and olives.

In the past Nice welcomed many immigrants from Italy (who continue to make a large proportion of the population), as well as Spanish and Portuguese immigrants. However, in the past few decades immigration has been opened to include immigrants from all over the world particularily immigrants from other parts of the world, mainly former Northern and Western African colonies, as well as southeastern Asia. Traditions are still alive, especially in the folk music and the dances. The most famous is the farandole

Before Nice was urbanized, the coast at Nice was just bordered by a deserted band of beach covered by large pebbles. The first houses were located on higher ground well away from the sea.

Starting in the second half of the 18th century, the English took to spending the winter in Nice, enjoying the panorama along the coast. When a particularly harsh winter up north brought an influx of beggars to Nice, some of the rich Englishmen proposed a useful project for them: the construction of walkway (chemin de promenade) along the sea.

The city of Nice, intrigued by the prospect of a pleasant promenade, greatly increased the scope of the work. The Promenade was first called the Camin dei Anglès (the English Way) by the Niçois in their native dialect Nissart. After the annexation of Nice by France in 1860 it was rechristened La Promenade des Anglais, replacing the former Nissart name with its French translation.