X-Nico

98 unusual facts about Provence


2009–10 Rugby Pro D2 season

Lannemezan and Aix-en-Provence earned promotion from Fédérale 1 for the 2009–10 season, while Dax and Mont-de-Marsan were relegated from the 2008–09 Top 14.

A K Dolven

Dolven was born and grew up in Oslo but left for France in 1972 to study art at École des Beaux-Arts in Aix-en-Provence, and then École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

Aicard

When Pope Urban II, the greatest of the Gregorian reformers after Gregory, travelled through Languedoc and Provence, visiting Montpellier, Nîmes, Saint-Gilles, Tarascon, Avignon, Aix, Cavaillon, and other cities, preaching the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont in 1095, he had to avoid Arles, where the deposed bishop was still in power.

Aiglun, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

The earthquake of 19 June 1984 had its epicentre in Aiglun and a macro-seismic intensity of VI on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale (MSK).

Aix Annunciation

Executed in 1443-1445, it was originally placed in the Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur, Aix-en-Provence, southern France.

Alfred Philippe Roll

He painted his first landscape in 1869, and in 1870 exhibited "Environs of Baccarat" and "Evening" at Salon-de-Provence.

Almond paste

Almond paste is the main ingredient of French traditional calisson candy in Aix-en-Provence.

Amel Brahim-Djelloul

She made her debut at the Festival International d'Art Lyrique at Aix-en-Provence in July 2005 in the role of Servilia in a new production of La clemenza di Tito.

Ancient Roman bathing

The Romans also developed baths in their colonies, taking advantage of the natural hot springs occurring in Europe to construct baths at Aix and Vichy in France, Bath and Buxton in England, Aachen and Wiesbaden in Germany, Baden, Austria, and Aquincum, Hungary, among other locations.

André Campra

A state-owned secondary school in the centre of Aix-en-Provence, is named after André Campra, Collège Campra.

Campra was the son of Jean-François Campra, a surgeon and violinist from Graglia, in Italy, and of Louise Fabry, from Aix-en-Provence.

André Campra (Aix-en-Provence, (baptized) 4 December 1660 – 29 June 1744 in Versailles) was a French composer and conductor.

André Jolivet

Jolivet founded the Centre Français d'Humanisme Musical at Aix-en-Provence in 1959, and in 1961 went to teach composition at the Paris Conservatoire.

Angles, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

There were 10 fires both in 1315 and in 1471 and a population of 312 in 1765 (Édouard Baratier, Georges Duby & Ernest Hildesheimer).

It is difficult to know the name of the Gallic people who inhabited the valley nor who were the Civitas on whom the Angles valley depended in the High Empire: Eturamina (Thorame), Civitas Saliniensum (Castellane), or Sanitensium (Senez).

Antoine Marc Gaudin

He was educated in Haifa, Versailles, and Toulon, then attended universities in Paris and Aix-en-Provence from which he received his bachelor degrees in 1916 and 1917, respectively.

Antônio Roberto Monteiro Simões

Prior to coming to Austin, Simões did his graduate studies at the University of Provence, in Aix-en-Provence, France; and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Auguste Achintre

After his father died when he was still young, Achintre's uncle Joseph Achintre, a university professor of humanities, raised him in Aix-en-Provence.

Banon

Banon, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in France

Battle of Camarón

The railing from the Legion grave at Camarone can now be found at the village of Puyloubier near Aix-en-Provence.

Bauxite

Bauxite was named by the French geologist Pierre Berthier in 1821 after the village of Les Baux in Provence, southern France, where he discovered it and was the first to recognize that it contained aluminium.

Charles Bernardy

From 1775 to 1780, the troop put on shows at Amiens, Cambrai, Strasbourg, Colmar, Paris (at the "théâtre des Petits Comédiens du Bois de Boulogne"), Angers, Le Mans, Aix-en-Provence, Toulon, Marseille, Dijon, Passy, Saint-Quentin, Antwerp and Brussels.

Charles IX of France

Their tour spanned two years and brought them through Bar, Lyon, Salon-de-Provence (where they visited Nostradamus), Carcassonne, Toulouse (where the King and his younger brother Henry were confirmed), Bayonne, La Rochelle, and Moulins.

Charles Mauron

He was married from 1919 to 1949 to the writer Marie Mauron (1896-1986), and their home in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence became a focal-point in the inter-war years for their friends in the Bloomsbury Group.

Curel

Curel, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department

Davit Kezerashvili

In October 2013, he was detained in Aix-en-Provence, France, pending hearing on extradition to Georgia.

Edward des Bouverie

They had no issue, and on des Bouverie's death on 21 November 1736, at Aix-en-Provence, he was succeeded by his younger brother Jacob.

Elder House of Welf

His son, Rudolph II succeeded to this new-formed state, which included the French or western part of Switzerland, Franche-Comté, Savoy, Dauphiné, Provence, and the country between the Rhine and the Alps, and was known as the kingdom of Burgundy.

Francesco Ruspoli, 3rd Prince of Cerveteri

Maria dei Principi Ruspoli (Rome, May 18, 1888 – Aix-en-Provence, August 6, 1976), married firstly in Paris, August 3, 1907 as his second wife Antoine XI, 11th Duc de Gramont (Paris, September 22, 1851 – Paris, January 30, 1925), without issue and secondly in Paris, July 23, 1934 as his first wife François Victor-Hugo (Fiesole, April 30, 1889 – Aix-en-Provence, December 29, 1981), great-grandson of Victor Hugo, without issue

Frantz Kruger

His personal best throw of 70.32 metres, achieved in May 2002 in Salon-de-Provence, is the current African record.

Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil

She took courses at the Institut de Recherche et de Coordination Acoustique/Musique in Paris and studied Iannis Xenakis's music in Aix-en-Provence.

Hans Clemer

A document found in Aix-en-Provence, speaks about two painters, Josse Lieferinxe and Mestre Ans and contains an agreement between the two artists, linked by kinship and the leader of the Brotherhood of St. Anthony of Padua, the monastery of Aix, for the realization of a work representing the saint.

Henri Fluchère

He played an important role in the establishment of an Elizabethan research centre in Aix-en-Provence and contributed to the Golden Guides series a volume on wines.

Henry de Beaume

According to one source, he was a member of the community of friars in Mirabeau when they accepted the Observant reform then growing among the Friars Minor.

Henry Padovani

While studying Economics at Aix-en-Provence, he began listening to Jimi Hendrix and was inspired to form his own band, Lupus, made up of various school friends.

Hugh D. MacPhie

An Honours Business graduate from Wilfrid Laurier University, MacPhie also studied Group Dynamics, sociology, and film at the Université de Provence in Aix-en-Provence, France.

IDBUS

Currently, iDBUS serves Aix-en-Provence, Amsterdam, Brussels, Gene, Lille, London, Lyon, Marseille, Milan, Nice, Paris, Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and Turin.

In Freundschaft

A first version of In Freundschaft was composed on Sunday, 24 July 1977 in Aix-en-Provence as a birthday gift for Suzanne Stephens.

International Bilingual School of Provence

The International Bilingual School of Provence is a mixed day and boarding school situated in Luynes on the outskirts of Aix-en-Provence in the south of France.

Isaac Chueke

In 2001, he was a special guest of France’s Ministry of Culture to consult and share his expertise at the festivals of Aix-en-Provence and Radio France Montpellier.

Italian classical music

Thus, we know that there was a vibrant troubador tradition in the 12th century in the Provence in their language and we know that 1000 miles away on the island of Sicily there was also a vibrant troubador tradition at the Hohenstaufen court of Frederick II, songs sung in the dialect of the people (very much influenced, for example, by Arabic), but it is conjecture as to exactly what either one sounded like.

Jean Cabassut

He was born at Aix and entered the Oratory at the age of twenty-one.

Jean Giono

Jean Giono (30 March 1895 – 8 October 1970) was a French author who wrote works of fiction mostly set in the Provence region of France.

Jean Jacques Surian

Recently it was noticed while exposing in 2004 a series of painting in Aix-en-Provence on the Divine Comedy of Dante (see some examples on fr:Wikipedia) and took part in 2006 in "the Cézanne year" with an exposure to the museum of the tapestries of Aix-en-Provence, where it reinterpreted the work of the Master of Aix, with much of affection, freedom and creative intelligence.

Jean-Baptiste de Brancas

Jean-Baptiste de Brancas (1693, Pernes-les-Fontaines—1770, Aix-en-Provence) was a French clergyman.

He was Bishop of La Rochelle from 1725 to 1729, then Arhbishop of Aix-en-Provence from 1729 until his death in 1770.

Jean-Baptiste Marie de Piquet, Marquis of Méjanes

In his will, he bequeathed all his books to Provence, i.e. from 60.000 to 80.000 books, should those books be made accessible to ordinary citizens; he also added a yearly income of 5.000 more Tours pounds for Provence.

Josquin des Prez

The first definite record of his employment is dated 19 April 1477, and it shows that he was a singer at the chapel of René, Duke of Anjou, in Aix-en-Provence.

Kiarash Anvari

After receiving his master degree in film studies from University of Provence in Aix-en-Provence, France, he continued his studies on PHD in film philosophy.

La cheminée du roi René

The castle and the court of René I, count of Provence, were situated in Aix-en-Provence, birthplace of Darius Milhaud who was always fascinated by the history of the king, his code of chivalry and the legendary tournaments that took place at his court.

Laura Margherita Mazzarini

Mazzarini lived with the rest of the family, first at Aix-en-Provence, then in the palace of her brother and finally settled at the court of Queen Anne of Austria, in the apartment of the Marquise de La Rochefoucauld.

Laurent Belissen

He was born in Aix-en-Provence and may have been among the last students of Guillaume Poitevin, then maître de musique at the choir school of the Aix Cathedral.

Leo Marchutz

Recognizing a kindred spirit in Cézanne, Marchutz took an initial trip to the artist's native Aix-en-Provence, France in the summer of 1928 and emigrated there permanently in 1931.

Léon de Berluc-Pérussis

Léon de Berluc-Pérussis (Apt, Vaucluse, 14 June 1835 - Aix-en-Provence, 2 December 1902) was a French poet and historian in French and Provençal.

Les Mées

Les Mées, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department

LGV Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Three principal route options were considered, mainly concerning the alignment between Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Toulon and Draguignan.

Liebesgeschichte der schönen Magelone und des Grafen Peter von Provence

The romance, which comprises eighteen poems with interlinking prose episodes, recounts the adventures of Count Peter of Provence and the beautiful Princess Magelone of Naples, who fall in love and elope.

Lycée International Georges Duby

The school is named after Georges Duby, an influential twentieth-century historian who taught at the University of Aix-en-Provence.

The Lycée is located on a sunny hillside in a village called Luynes, on the southern outskirts of Aix-en-Provence.

Maddalena Pass

Its French name Col de Larche refers to the village Larche on its northwestern side.

Mahamat Déby Itno

He subsequently received training in France, at the military school of Aix-en-Provence.

Mahler Chamber Orchestra

The MCO has stable residencies in Ferrara (Ferrara Musica, honorary president: Claudio Abbado), Aix-en-Provence (Festival international d'art lyrique d'Aix-en-Provence), Toblach (Gustav Mahler Musikwochen), Lucerne (Lucerne Festival), Salzburg (Mozartwochen) and Landshut.

Marseille soap

By 1913 production had reached 180,000 tons, and in 1924 there were 132 soapmaking companies in the Marseille and Salon-de-Provence areas combined, but by 2000 only five remained.

Mass suicide

After several victories for the invading armies, the Cimbri and Teutones were then defeated by Gaius Marius in 102 BC at the Battle of Aquae Sextiae (near present-day Aix-en-Provence).

Michael Tigar

He has been visiting professor at the law faculty of the Paul Cézanne University, Aix-en-Provence, and has lectured at law schools in several countries.

Michele Mazzarino

Mazzarino was the promoter of the "Mazarin district" in Aix-en-Provence located south of the Cours Mirabeau.

Miles Richmond

In 1952, he and his first wife, Eleanor (later Susanna) Richmond moved to Aix-en-Provence, France, and in 1954 to Ronda, Andalusia, Spain, where he lived and worked for over twenty years.

Mirabeau, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

It's intensity in Mirabeau was V on the MSK scale (Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale) (sleeping people wake up, objects fall).

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate

It was founded on January 25, 1816 by Saint Eugene de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, 1782.

Nubar Pasha

A plaintiff could only sue a Frenchman in the French court, with appeal to Aix-en-Provence; an Italian in the Italian court, with appeal to Ancona; a Russian in the Russian court, with appeal to Moscow.

Pamphilites

The fossil was a single forewing recovered from the Lower Oligocene in Aix-en-Provence, France.

It contains only one fossil species, Pamphilites abdita, recovered from the Tertiary of Aix-en-Provence, France.

Pascal Payet

On November 20, 1997, he participated in an attack on a Banque de France armored car in Salon-de-Provence during which a guard was killed.

Pi Delta Phi

It currently numbers more than 370 chapters established at representative public and private colleges and universities in almost every state, as well as chapters in Paris and Aix-en-Provence.

Pierre Ancelin

Born in Cannes, Ancelin studied pedagogy and music history at the conservatories of Aix-en-Provence and Marseille, then followed the course of aesthetics of Olivier Messiaen in Paris.

Pierre Gros

He presently holds the post of Professor of Latin language and civilization at the Université de Provence.

Pierrette Alarie

As a team Alarie and Simoneau gained celebrity in Europe and were invited to all the major festivals, Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg, Glyndebourne, Edinburgh, as well as major opera houses such as Vienna and Munich.

Platée

The French version reappeared at a production in Monte Carlo in 1917 but Platée only returned to France at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 1956 with young tenor Michel Sénéchal as the queen of frogs, a part which Mr Sénéchal took again in the Opéra-Comique in 1977.

Raphaele Shirley

In the early 90s, she enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux Arts of Aix-en-Provence, France.

Richard Glanfield

He became the world's youngest international squash coach aged 21 years old when coaching Cyprus at the European Championships 1986 Aix-en-Provence, France.

Romain Gary

He learned to pilot an aircraft in the French Air Force in Salon-de-Provence and in Avord Air Base, near Bourges.

Sadok Chaabane

Moreover, he taught in many universities, namely in Syracuse (Italy), Nice, Aix en Provence and Strasbourg (France), Ben Aknoune (Algeria), and others.

Salyes

The successful operations of Marcus Fulvius Flaccus were continued by Gaius Sextius Calvinus (123-122), who definitely subdued the Salyes, destroyed their chief town at the site of Entremont, north of Marseille, which reverted to rural occupation, and founded near its ruins the colony of Aquae Sextiae (Aix-en-Provence).

In addition to the capital of the Salyes at Entremont, where two major routes crossed, the inland route from the fords of the Durance to the Alpine valleys and the natural coastal route linking Italy and Hispania, among other important Roman towns in their territory may be mentioned Tarusco or Tarasco (Tarascon), Arelate (Arles), Glanum (Saint-Rémy-de-Provence) and Ernaginum (Saint-Gabriel, now part of Tarascon).

and by the time of Strabo some authorities considered them a "mixed race" of Galli and Ligurians (hence Celtoligyes); by others a purely Celtic people, who subjugated the Ligures in the Provincia.

Saviour Bernard

At the young age of nineteen, in 1743, Bernard was sent to the south of France, at Aix-en-Provence, to study medicine and surgery at the University of Aix-en-Provence there.

SmartTrade Technologies

The company has its headquarters in Aix-en-Provence France, with subsidiaries in Paris, London, New York and Tokyo.

Stephen McGill

Thereafter he was appointed to the staff of Le Grand Séminaire at Bordeaux in October 1939 and transferred to Le Grand Séminaire at Aix-en-Provence in January 1940.

Teresa Berganza

Berganza made her operatic debut as Dorabella in Così fan tutte in 1957 at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

Terry Phillips

He spent his junior year at l’Institut d’Etudes Françaises in Aix-en-Provence, France, and is fluent in French.

Tiemoko Garan Kouyaté

He then travelled to Aix-en-Provence for further education, but was expelled in 1926 for spreading communist propaganda.

Tourism in France

Several cities also attracts a lot of tourists, like Aix-en-Provence, Marseille or Cassis, on the Mediterranean Sea coastline.

Trophée des Alpilles

The creation of an ATP Challenger Tour event in the Provence region had been envisioned for several years by several tennis tournaments organisers, as well as former World No. 4, Marseille-born Sébastien Grosjean, before the project came to life during 2008 and 2009 when the Saint-Rémy-de-Provence organisers, sponsored by Grosjean, met with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) to discuss the introduction of such an event in the calendar.

It is held annually at the Tennis Club de Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, since 2009.

Vahina Giocante

Born in Orléans, France, she went to school at the Lycée Paul-Cézanne in Aix-en-Provence and previously danced with the Marseille Opera.

Vincent van Gogh's health

Various symptoms are described in Van Gogh's letters and other documents such as the asylum register at Saint-Rémy.

ZChocolat.com

zChocolat.com is headquartered in Aix-en-Provence, France, and has a dedicated logistics center in Forcalquier Alpes de Haute Provence and U.S. office in Ojai, California.

Zoltán Kővágó

His personal best throw is 69.95 m, achieved in May 2006 in Salon-de-Provence.


Aix Cathedral

In 1750, this organ was replaced by the present "green and gold organ," built between 1743 and 1746 by Brother Jean-Esprit Isnard, a Dominican from the convent of Tarascon, who built several other notable organs in Provence, including that in the basilica of Saint-Maximin.

Amélie Beaury-Saurel

After Julian's death, she bought and laid out "Château Julian", in Lapalud, a village in Provence, in memory of her husband, who had been born there.

Boffille de Juge

When John of Anjou, duke of Calabria, was conquered in Italy (1461) and fled to Provence, Boffille followed him.

Borvo

Many of the sites where offerings to Borvo have been found are in Gaul: inscriptions to him have been found in Drôme at Aix-en-Diois, Bouches-du-Rhône at Aix-en-Provence, Gers at Auch, Allier at Bourbon-l'Archambault, Savoie at Aix-les-Bains, Saône-et-Loire at Bourbon-Lancy, in Savoie at Aix-les-Bains, Haute-Marne at Bourbonne-les-Bains and in Nièvre at Entrains-sur-Nohain.

Canton of Marseille – Sainte-Marguerite

Canton of Marseille – Sainte-Marguerite is a canton of France, located within the commune of Marseille in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.

Demoiselles Coiffées de Pontis

The Demoiselles Coiffées de Pontis is a rock formation in Pontis, near Embrun in the French Alps, located on the edge of the Lac de Serre-Ponçon.

Estérel, Quebec

Around 1920, Belgian Baron Louis Empain acquired substantially all the land around Lake Masson intending to build a resort called Estérel, named after the Esterel massif in Provence, south-east France.

Gérard Locardi

He has been mainly a painter who found his inspiration in antique themes, two of his paintings are exhibited in the Chapelle de la Charité in Carpentras, Provence, France.

Giens peninsula

There are extensive vineyards on the peninsula, producing the AOC Côtes de Provence label.

Honoré Armand de Villars

Don Honoré Armand de Villars, 2e duc de Villars (4 October 1702, Paris - May 1770, Aix), Duke and Peer of France, Prince of Martigues, Grandee of Spain, Knight of the Golden Fleece, Viscount of Melun, Marquis of la Melle, Count of Rochemiley, was a French nobleman, soldier and politician.

Jean René Baroux

In August 1944, he landed with allied forces on the beaches around Saint-Tropez, France, as part of Operation Dragoon which launched a 25-mile front onto the German invasion forces in Provence.

Jean-Baptiste van Loo

He was born in Aix-en-Provence, and was instructed in art by his father Louis-Abraham van Loo, son of Jacob van Loo.

Leonaert Bramer

In 1614, at the age of 18, he left on a long trip eventually reaching Rome in 1616, via Atrecht, Amiens, Paris, Aix (February 1616), Marseille, Genoa, and Livorno.

Levens

At the end of the 14th century, the destiny of Levens was linked to the whole County of Nice, which parted with Provence to form an alliance with Savoy on the initiative of the powerful John All Saints' Day, baron of Beuil, whose eldest son later became lord of Levens.

Marius Jacob

On April 19, 1900, he escaped from the asylum in Aix-en-Provence with the assistance of a male nurse and took refuge in Sète.

Monic Cecconi-Botella

In 2008 she founded the Festival Seasons of the Voice in Gordes, Provence.

Niccolò Antonio Colantonio

His paintings show the mingling of several cultures, as Alfonso V of Aragon had brought to Naples artists from Iberia, including the Valencian Jacomart, Burgundy, Provence, and Flanders.

Nompar

Anne Nompar de Caumont, countess of Balbi (1753–1832), mistress of the count of Provence, who later became Louis XVIII

Perceval Doria

Between 1228 and 1243 he assumed the character of a podestà in several Provençal and north Italian cities, such as Arles, Avignon, Asti, and Parma.

Provence Power Station

Provence Power Station is a 868 MW coal-fired power station at Gardanne, France.

Punta Marguareis

Administratively the Marguareis is divided between the Italian region of Piemonte (province: Cuneo) and the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (department: Alpes-Maritimes).

Salonenque

The Salonenque is particularly common in Provence, especially in the Bouches-du-Rhône.

Shabby chic

The term was coined by The World of Interiors magazine in the 1980s and became extremely popular in the US in the '90s with a certain eclectic surge of decorating styles with paints and effects, notably in metropolitan cultural centres on the West Coast of America, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, with heavy influences from Mediterranean cultures such as Provence, Tuscany and Greece.

Sisteron Cathedral

Sisteron Cathedral, now the Church of Notre-Dame-des Pommiers (Cathédrale or Concathédrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Thyrse de Sisteron; Église Notre-Dame des Pommiers, or "Our Lady of the Appletrees") is a Roman Catholic church, formerly a cathedral, and national monument of France, in Sisteron, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

SNCF Class Z 23500

They are mainly used on stopping services around the French Riviera (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur), Lille (Nord-Pas-de-Calais) and Lyon (Rhône-Alpes).

Tibors de Sarenom

Tibors was the daughter of Guilhem d'Omelas and Tibors d'Aurenga, who brought her husband the castle of Sarenom, probably Sérignan-du-Comtat in Provence or perhaps Sérignan in the Roussillon.

Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab

But the expeditionary force was expelled from Provence in 737–38 in a joint operation by Charles Martel of the Franks and Liutprand of the Lombards.

Vauvenargues

Vauvenargues, a commune of the Bouches-du-Rhône département in southern France, near Aix-en-Provence