Vence is our local town. It’s about 8 miles east of Tourrettes and has a population of about 17,000 which rises significantly in the summer months when tourists flock to see its history and art and to eat in its multitude of restaurants.
It’s easy to be a bit blasé about your local villages and towns but Vence is not to be ignored. It’s been an occupied site since before 230AD when the Romans decided to settle there and call it Vintium, a fact confirmed by pillars outside the small cathedral, which house a stone tablet, dated 239AD and dedicated to the Roman Emporer Gordian III.
Over the centuries that followed, the Ligurians followed by the aristocratic Villeneuve family turned Vence into a walled town, the battlements of which still stand today as do the five gateways which provided access to the inner part of the town. It was the Villeneuves though who put the place on the map.
In the early 1100's, Romee de Villeneuve who, though only the Baron of Vence, managed to marry his four daughters rather well. One married the King of England, the next the King of France, the third the King of Naples and the fourth the German Emperor! Needless to say, Vence, although small, benefited from these royal marriages and became an important trading post.
Today, Vence is a prosperous, multi-cultural town with a wonderful geographic position sitting below the last vestiges of the Alps and overlooking the Mediterranean, only twenty minutes from Nice and the airport. By some reports, Vence is one of the most livable towns in Europe. It has wonderful views down to the coast and one of the Continent's best climates but, it is its history associated with art which brings in the visitors by the busload.
Many artists lived and worked in the area, in particular Monet, Chagall and Matisse. Matisse spent quite a few years in Vence being cared for by nuns in a local convent (the Rosarie Chapel) which he redesigned in his own particular style when he recovered from his illness, as a way of paying the order back for their kindness. A link to the Rosarie Chapel is below.
http://www.vence.fr/The-Rosaire-Chapel.html
In addition to the Chapel, which is like one big Matisse exhibition, the town itself has an exceptional art collection, among which, is a collection of Matisse lithographs.
It is the amazing light which attracted the impressionists, and today’s budding artists, who come from all over the world to paint the historic buildings, the fields of poppies and lavender, and the stunning coastal scenes.
So what is it about the light which is so special? I have to admit I didn’t understand it at first until I noticed that on some days, generally after it’s been windy, the side of the valley across from us seems incredibly close and the colours of the trees and the sky take on a particular vibrancy that’s just not there every day.
So the Americans, Germans, Italians and English flock to Vence to be welcomed by the friendly Venceois, the terrific restaurants and the Maisons de Presse ...the places where one buys newspapers... which sell the London Times, the International Herald Tribune and the Wall Street Journal as well as the leading newspapers from Frankfurt, Rome, Switzerland and Belgium.
So, we’re very lucky to have such a special place on our doorstep. It’s just a pity it’s not big enough to have a proper football team - then everything would be perfect!
And that last comment will have J calling me ‘a pathetic heathen’!
1 comment:
Tom, Vence sounds absolutely incredible! Now I have yet another place in Europe I'll want to be visiting :) The fact that it's so full of culture makes it so much more appealing too! You're so lucky to live so close by to so many different things!
And thank you for your wise words - you're absolutely right about the whole situation with China. And as bummed as I am about it, I do believe everything happens for a reason :)
Enjoy your weekend Tom! And thanks for another wonderful post (my parents will thank you too because now I'll be begging them for a trip to France!) ;)
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