A Bit of History From Provence

 

 
Photos and Text by: Corey Amaro

The French village where I live started nearly two thousand years ago deep within the Provencal foothills. Over a thousand years ago it was destroyed by a fire. Trails, stone walls, a church, and traces of another life still remain if you are willing to hike up Saint Baume to see it.

The trail leading up to the old village ruins is rocky. What impressed me the most is the stone steps that are still intact. Along the path you can find wild irises, savaged snapdragons and the classic mix of herbs of Provence: Thyme, rosemary, lavender... it is a perfumed trail that carries you along.

For years the town has had an annual picnic the day after Easter by the old village ruins. 

A procession leads the way up the hill, with a group playing traditional Provencal music with Provencal instruments, and dressed in traditional Provencal costumes.
There is a BBQ, and organized games for the children.

A morning mass is held in the small chapel that over looks the "new" village (1200 years old is consider new...) below.

 

The traditional quilted skirts are called "jupon".

Hand crocheted socks were worn back then. Knitted ones where consider functional, everyday wear. Crocheted socks were for feast days, or worn when you were going out.

Imagine hiking up the hill in those shoes.

A picnic basket... it is more attractive than a brightly colored backpack... but not as practical when you have to carry it up the hill.

A traditional Provencal cape. Note: The pleated hood, which was worn over the lace cap.

 

Antique Provencal textiles can be found at the antique shops and brocantes in France. Typical colors in Provence include: Yellow, blue, orange, brown, red... 

 

   

An antique French santon (A character in the French nativity scene at Christmas.) depicts the attire of a typical 18th century woman. Note: The baskets for carrying vegetables.

 

French antique quilts using Provencal fabric.

The "Jupons" were made the same way as a quilt was made, but not as thick. In the winter the jupons were batted with wool, and in the summer they were batted with cotton.

   

 

French women know how to tie a scarf because they have a long history of doing so.

The French Provencal scarves were pleated and pinned in the back, and then tied in the front with a simple knot.

 

A French man, in non typical French clothing, rings the church bell for all it is worth.

Tell me a little history about your town or city?

____________________

Notes:

Culture History of Provence

The Summer in France: A new lovely book by a Paulita Kincer, a blog reader of Tongue in Cheek. 

Two Towns in Provence

The French General

Comments

[annie vanderven]

my hometown has so much history starting from the druids, passing through the protestant martyrdom, we had a protestant university, a cavalry school which is the equivalent of the Vienna school, Louis the XIV came through and we built an avenue for him, Napoleon I made a stop, Balzac wrote a book with Saumur as the site (Eugenie Grandet) should I also mention our beautiful castle, our wines, fruits, veggies . Living there you are very aware of all your ancestors walking along side of you, life has not changed that much..besides tons of tourists in the summer!!!!

Annie v.

[Marilyn]

This is one of my favorite past posts. Thanks for the reminder. I can't imagine wearing quilted skirts, I would feel bigger than I already am. Though I would love wearing those beautiful socks. Thanks! I think I know the history of the town I was born in than I know of the town where I have lived for 37 years. Sebastopol, CA is where I was born. It was settled by two Russian families that lived in the same house, I am told. However, there was a dispute between the two and the house was cut in half. The half closest side to where Sebastopol is today was a family from Sebastopol, Russia and they named the town after there home in Russia. So this is the story I heard, whether it is true, I do not know.

[Chris Wittmann]

What a charming place! I think that's the best word to describe your area...charming, and oh so beautiful. It's beautiful here in Alton, New Hampshire too, so many lakes (364 I believe) and mountains, with the highest mountain on the east coast (Mount Washington). The fall colors are glorious and the town is spread out over many miles, a rural town to be sure.
The inventor of the corkscrew lived in Alton (William Rockwell Clough)! He manufactured them in a barn on our road, behind his house. In the 1800's we had a corkscrew factory, a shoe factory and I think one other one that escapes me now. There was a lumber mill on the river below me, owned by the family that lived in our house in the 1870's. I'm told my old house used to be a Masonic temple, but I have not been able to verify that. There are masonic emblems in the eaves above our front door, but maybe just a Mason lived here.
We too get tons of tourists, all year long. Soon it will be skiers :)

[Delphine]

Where I live (Morphett Vale,South Australia) is nowhere near as old in European settlement as where you live. But the original inhabitants, aboriginal people of the Kaurana tribe, have been here 4,000 years and there are lots of sacred sites. They are the traditional keepers and carers of this land. Europeans arrived in the late 1880's. Originally they started wheat farming and many flour mills were built (a couple stile standing), but bad farming practices reduced the crops so alternatives were found - grapes. I live in the middle of what use to be vineyards but is now suburbia. But not far away (20 minutes drive) are the lush vineyards of McLaren Vale producing some of the worlds's best wine. It is such a pretty area with little towns dotted through out which are quiet and secluded. I live 10 minutes from the beach where whaling ships sailed up and down and now dolphins come to play. Whales pop up at Victor Harbour (a bit further along the coast)in summertime with their babies. Fortunately no more whaling ships. Another coastal town is Aldinga with caves in the cliff face where smugglers use to stash their booty. I live in a quiet less populated piece of suburbia compared to the rest of Adelaide, but am only minutes from the country and the coast. Best of both worlds.

[Helene]

What a lovely post. The information about the fabrics,quilts and jupons is so interesting too.
I live in a rural valley inland from Carmel and Monterey in California. Ours was one of the first areas settled by Europeans, Spanish coming up from Mexico following the missionaries who established the string of Missions in California. So I always thought our area had some longer history. Then I took our French exchange student to visit the Mission Boromeo in Carmel. He noticed the founding inscription near the door and said, "Oh, my grandmother's house was built in that year." All things are relative.

[Diogenes]

A nice way to remember the history of your town. Love the pictures of the fabrics.

If you can believe it, Los Angeles was founded in 1781. The original Pueblo de Los Angeles, built by the Spanish, is still standing at the edge of what is now downtown LA. I think it is used as a church today. Olvera Street, the first road in the city, is next to it and is now a lively pedestrian area with restaurants, galleries and shops.

[smee]

LOVE this post! Thanks!

As for me, I live in the Mojave Desert of So. CAL., a town named Apple Valley. Originally Paiute Indian country, it was a pioneer thoroughfare of sorts for anyone traveling from the upper west down into So CAL. The first white settler who built a permanent structure for living was a 17 year old "Mormon" boy, Silas Cox, in 1860. His folks dropped him off on their way to help establish San Bernardino, expecting him to herd the family cattle and take care of himself in the process. There were no roads or visible markers of a town in any way when he first arrived, however many ranchers took advantage of the open desert for their cattle. By the time the boy grew into manhood he was considered the "Daniel Boone of the West". In 1946 gas and oil barons would come up to the desert, purchase loads of land and try to develop it into another "Palm Springs", inviting celebrities from Hollywood to come and enjoy the "health benefits of living in the high (altitude)desert." It never really took off, however the "Singing Cowboy" Roy Rogers and his wife Dale Evans built a ranch and lived here in the valley until their deaths, and are buried in the local cemetery. There are multiple theories on the name, apple groves in the 1920s (not a one in the last 50+ years!), a development company name, or some say an ode to the Garden of "Herperides and the golden apples" As the city of Hesperia is just to our south west. Who knows for sure? We just made township official in 1988. Hotter than heck in the summer, near freezing in the winter, and a constant desert wind pretty much 360 days a year (we get a few days off.)All in all it's fairly new, as in most everything here is 20 years old, very few older places left. : ( I can't imagine how wonderful it would be to see buildings still in use that are centuries old!

[martina]

Seattle was founded in the 1869. My family came here around 1887. Puget Sound is the major waterway. One of the prettiest sites you will see is driving along the freeway northbound, Puget Sound on your left with lots of boat traffic including ferries, the modern and 20th century buildings like Safeco Field, King Street station and skyscrapers and further along the Space Needle. Microsoft, Amazon and Costco started here(wish I'd bought stock when it first came up). The area of town where I have lived for 30 years was started by Scandinavians around 1890. It has now become quite trendy with the young people who moved here for tech jobs. Lots of bars, cafes, restaurants and boutiques.

[martina]

Seattle is named after the Native American chief who greeted the settlers when they arrived. Chief Sealth. He had a daughter named Princess Angeline who apparently made baskets and sold them near the now famous Pike Place Farmers' Market around 1910. It is hard to imagine this big city the way it must have looked in 1869, with lots of trees and forests.

[momof5]

Boston, founded in the 1600's by Puritans from England. Later the seat of the American Revolution...remember the Boston Tea Party? It's about as old as cities get in the USA and steeped in history and beauty. I think compared to many other US cities it has the most European feel to it. My house is only a little over 100 years old but it was built over a dirt foundation that contains hundreds of very old bottles (older than our house). There is a little door in my basement that my kids would crawl through with flash lights and dig for bottles. There is still an endless supply.

[momof5]

Ilove Seattle!

[Jeannie]

I always enjoy the textiles of other countries and Provence just tugs at my heart string. I think it is the yellow.
I have two home towns. Where I was born and miss is Snohomish. It is north of Seattle and was a mill town. Now it is antique central, but still has its quaint appeal.
Where I live is 215 miles southeast of Seattle. Richland is in the desert with only 5-6 inches of rain/year. It was built by the US government for workers who were processing uranium for the bombs during WWII. The work now is cleaning up all the toxic residue from that production. A very sad history, but a beautiful town. We are on the Columbia River where I walk daily. There are eagles, heron, pelicans, waterfowl, owls, hawks, etc. It was barren land turned to vineyards and orchards thanks to the dams along the river and irrigation.

[Dd]

I live in Boston also, right off the "freedom trail", which you can follow from one historical site to another. I listen for the sound of the cannon on the ship, the Constition every AM and at sunset.
Dd

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Corey, you continue to spin beautiful pictures of your adopted country. Your town sounds like a fairy tale. Also wonderful stories about the west coast of the US. Areas that are familiar to me. Thank you for sharing. My hometown is Los Angles, CA but we have lived the last 10 years in rural southern Oregon. It is 180 degrees different. Evans Valley is a hay farming area between Medford and Grants Pass. It was originally settled after the Civil War by farmers from the South. There was a small war with the Indians over property early on. The hidden valleys did not encourage population growth.

[Teddee Grace]

Those capes with the pleated hoods would sell in this country like hot cakes I think.

[Kathie B]

Downloaded the enlargement of the photo with the white stockings, then enlarged it as much as possible without losing focus:
http://willows95988.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451cb9a69e201156f239bfe970c-pi
After close scrutiny, as well as 55 years experience knitting, I can definitively state that those stockings are knitted, not crocheted. The filets (lacy openings) are created using yarn-over/K2tog (or PSSO) technique.

[Laura]

What a beautiful history and the clothing is gorgeous. I would not mind wearing stockings like those and the scarves are stunning. WOW!

I live in Arlington VA, outside Washington,DC. During the Civil War, General Lee was the General for the South and he and his family owned a home and property across the river from DC. During a battle, the Northern army occupied his home and land. To prove they had really taken over the property, they began burying dead soldiers on the property.

Today, this property is known as Arlington National Cemetery, the burial ground for many soldiers and veterans who have died since the Civil War. General Lee's home is in the middle of the cemetery and a person can visit and see the most beautiful view of DC imaginable.

Arlington is also home to the Pentagon, which was built in the 1940's.

Arlington is, to this day, a government town, but we also have many other businesses. To me, however, Arlington is great place to live because of very good planning - even though it is a very urban city, we have lots of parks, bike trails, dog parks, and lots of fun activities on the Potomac River.

It really is a great place to work and live.