1.
Communes of France
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The commune is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to civil townships incorporated municipalities in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany, the United Kingdom has no exact equivalent, as communes resemble districts in urban areas, but are closer to parishes in rural areas where districts are much larger. Communes are based on historical geographic communities or villages and have received significant powers of governance to manage the populations, the communes are the fourth-level administrative divisions of France. A French commune may be a city of 2.2 million inhabitants like Paris, communes typically are based on pre-existing villages and facilitate local governance. All communes have names, but not all named geographic areas or groups of people residing together are communes, a commune is a town, city, or municipality. Use of commune in English is a habit, and one that might be corrected. There is nothing in commune in French that is different from town in English. The French word commune appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin communia, as of January 2015, there were 36,681 communes in France,36,552 of them in metropolitan France and 129 of them overseas. This is a higher total than that of any other European country. The whole territory of the French Republic is divided into communes and this is unlike some other countries, such as the United States, where unincorporated areas directly governed by a county or a higher authority can be found. There are only a few exceptions, COM of Saint-Martin and it was previously a commune inside the Guadeloupe région. The commune structure was abolished when Saint-Martin became an overseas collectivity on 22 February 2007, COM of Wallis and Futuna, which still is divided according to the three traditional chiefdoms. It was previously a commune inside the Guadeloupe region, the commune structure was abolished when Saint-Barthélemy became an overseas collectivity on 22 February 2007.88 square kilometres. The median area of metropolitan Frances communes at the 1999 census was even smaller, the median area is a better measure of the area of a typical French commune. This median area is smaller than that of most European countries. In Italy, the area of communes is 22 km2, in Belgium it is 40 km2, in Spain it is 35 km2, and in Germany. Switzerland and the Länder of Rhineland-Palatinate, Schleswig-Holstein, and Thuringia in Germany were the places in Europe where the communes had a smaller median area than in France. The communes of Frances overseas départements such as Réunion and French Guiana are large by French standards and they usually group into the same commune several villages or towns, often with sizeable distances among them
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
4.
Regions of France
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France is divided into 18 administrative regions, including 13 metropolitan regions and 5 overseas regions. The current legal concept of region was adopted in 1982, the term région was officially created by the Law of Decentralisation, which also gave regions their legal status. The first direct elections for representatives took place on 16 March 1986. In 2016, the number of regions was reduced from 27 to 18 through amalgamation, in 2014, the French parliament passed a law reducing the number of metropolitan regions from 22 to 13 with effect from 1 January 2016. However, the region of Upper and Lower Normandy is simply called Normandy. Permanent names were to be proposed by the new regional councils by 1 July 2016, the legislation defining the new regions also allowed the Centre region to officially change its name to Centre-Val de Loire with effect from January 2015. Two regions, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, opted to retain their interim names, between 1982 and 2015, there were 22 regions in Metropolitan France. Before 2011, there were four regions, in 2011 Mayotte became the fifth. Regions lack separate legislative authority and therefore cannot write their own statutory law and they levy their own taxes and, in return, receive a decreasing part of their budget from the central government, which gives them a portion of the taxes it levies. They also have considerable budgets managed by a council made up of representatives voted into office in regional elections. A regions primary responsibility is to build and furnish high schools, in March 2004, the French central government unveiled a controversial plan to transfer regulation of certain categories of non-teaching school staff to the regional authorities. Critics of this plan contended that tax revenue was insufficient to pay for the costs. In addition, regions have considerable power over infrastructural spending, e. g. education, public transit, universities and research. This has meant that the heads of regions such as Île-de-France or Rhône-Alpes can be high-profile positions. Number of regions controlled by each coalition since 1986, Overseas region is a recent designation, given to the overseas departments that have similar powers to those of the regions of metropolitan France. Radio France Internationale in English Overseas regions Ministère de lOutre-Mer some explanations about the past and current developments of DOMs and TOMs
5.
Departments of France
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In the administrative divisions of France, the department is one of the three levels of government below the national level, between the administrative regions and the commune. There are 96 departments in metropolitan France and 5 overseas departments, each department is administered by an elected body called a departmental council. From 1800 to April 2015, they were called general councils, the departments were created in 1791 as a rational replacement of Ancien Régime provinces with a view to strengthen national unity, the title department is used to mean a part of a larger whole. Almost all of them were named after geographical features rather than after historical or cultural territories which could have their own loyalties. The earliest known suggestion of it is from 1764 in the writings of dArgenson and they have inspired similar divisions in many countries, some of them former French colonies. Most French departments are assigned a number, the Official Geographical Code. Some overseas departments have a three-digit number, the number is used, for example, in the postal code, and was until recently used for all vehicle registration plates. For example, inhabitants of Loiret might refer to their department as the 45 and this reform project has since been abandoned. The first French territorial departments were proposed in 1665 by Marc-René dArgenson to serve as administrative areas purely for the Ponts et Chaussées infrastructure administration, before the French Revolution, France gained territory gradually through the annexation of a mosaic of independent entities. By the close of the Ancien Régime, it was organised into provinces, during the period of the Revolution, these were dissolved, partly in order to weaken old loyalties. Their boundaries served two purposes, Boundaries were chosen to break up Frances historical regions in an attempt to erase cultural differences, Boundaries were set so that every settlement in the country was within a days ride of the capital of the department. This was a security measure, intended to keep the national territory under close control. This measure was directly inspired by the Great Terror, during which the government had lost control of rural areas far from any centre of government. The old nomenclature was carefully avoided in naming the new departments, most were named after an areas principal river or other physical features. Even Paris was in the department of Seine, the number of departments, initially 83, was increased to 130 by 1809 with the territorial gains of the Republic and of the First French Empire. Following Napoleons defeats in 1814-1815, the Congress of Vienna returned France to its pre-war size, in 1860, France acquired the County of Nice and Savoy, which led to the creation of three new departments. Two were added from the new Savoyard territory, while the department of Alpes-Maritimes was created from Nice, the 89 departments were given numbers based on their alphabetical order. The department of Bas-Rhin and parts of Meurthe, Moselle, Vosges and Haut-Rhin were ceded to the German Empire in 1871, following Frances defeat in the Franco-Prussian War
6.
Alpes-Maritimes
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Alpes-Maritimes is a department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region in the extreme southeast corner of France. The inhabitants of the department are called Maralpins, but are referred to as Azuréens. The Alpes-Maritimes department is surrounded by the departments of Var in the southwest, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence in the north-west, Italy, and it surrounds the Principality of Monaco on the west, north, and east. The highest point of the department is the Cime du Gélas on the Franco-Italian border which dominates the Vallée des Merveilles further east, in fact the summit of Monte Argentera is certainly higher at 3297 m above sea level but it is located in Italian territory. There is also Mount Mounier which dominates the south of the vast Dôme de Barrot which is formed of a mass of more than 900 m thick red mudstones deeply indented by the gorges of Daluis and Cians. Except in winter, four passes allow passage to the north of the Mercantour/Argentera mountain range whose imposing 62 km long barrier covered in snow which is visible from the coast. From the west the Route des Grandes Alpes enters the Cayolle Pass first on the way to the Alps, then the route follows the Col de la Bonette - the highest pass in Europe at 2715 m - to connect to the valley of the Tinée then the Ubaye. Further east, the Lombard pass above Isola 2000 allows access to the shrine of Saint-Anne de Vinadio in Italy, finally, at its eastern end, the Col de Tende links with Cuneo in Italy. The rivers in order are, It is the climate that made the Côte dAzur famous. The coastal area has a Mediterranean climate, towards the interior, especially in the north, a mountain climate. One of the attractions of the department is its level of sunshine,300 days per year, despite this the department is also the most stormy of France with an average of 70 to 110 thunderstorm days per year. Alpes-Maritimes is divided into 2 arrondissements, the Grasse and the Nice,27 cantons and 163 communes, in 2002 there were 14 intercommunalities. At its greatest extent in AD297, the province reached north to Digne, a first French département of Alpes-Maritimes existed in the same area from 1793 to 1814. Its boundaries differed from those of the department, however. In 1793 Alpes-Maritimes included Monaco and San Remo, but not Grasse which was part of the départment of Var. Sanremo, cantons, Sanremo, Bordighera, Dolceacqua, Pigna, Taggia, Triora, Puget-Théniers, cantons, Puget-Théniers, Beuil, Gilette, Guillaumes, Roquesteron, Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée and Villars-sur-Var. Its population in 1812 was 131,266, and its area was 322,674 hectares, the department was reconstituted in 1860 when the county of Nice was annexed by France. It included the county of Nice as well as the independent towns of Menton and Roquebrune
7.
Daylight saving time
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Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
8.
Central European Summer Time
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It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
9.
Italian language
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By most measures, Italian, together with Sardinian, is the closest to Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is a language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City. Italian is spoken by minorities in places such as France, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Crimea and Tunisia and by large expatriate communities in the Americas. Many speakers are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages, Italian is the fourth most studied language in the world. Italian is a major European language, being one of the languages of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It is the third most widely spoken first language in the European Union with 65 million native speakers, including Italian speakers in non-EU European countries and on other continents, the total number of speakers is around 85 million. Italian is the working language of the Holy See, serving as the lingua franca in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Italian is known as the language of music because of its use in musical terminology and its influence is also widespread in the arts and in the luxury goods market. Italian has been reported as the fourth or fifth most frequently taught foreign language in the world, Italian was adopted by the state after the Unification of Italy, having previously been a literary language based on Tuscan as spoken mostly by the upper class of Florentine society. Its development was influenced by other Italian languages and to some minor extent. Its vowels are the second-closest to Latin after Sardinian, unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latins contrast between short and long consonants. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive, however, Italian as a language used in Italy and some surrounding regions has a longer history. What would come to be thought of as Italian was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri, written in his native Florentine. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language, and thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the language of Italy. Italian was also one of the recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy has always had a dialect for each city, because the cities. Those dialects now have considerable variety, as Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of Regional Italian. Even in the case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages
10.
Occitan language
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Occitan, also known as lenga dòc by its native speakers, is a Romance language. It is spoken in southern France, Italys Occitan Valleys, Monaco, and Spains Val dAran, collectively, Occitan is also spoken in the linguistic enclave of Guardia Piemontese. However, there is controversy about the unity of the language, others include Catalan in this family, as the distance between this language and some Occitan dialects is similar to the distance among different Occitan dialects. In fact, Catalan was considered an Occitan dialect until the end of the 19th century, today, Occitan is an official language in Catalonia, where a subdialect of Gascon known as Aranese is spoken in the Val dAran. Since September 2010, the Parliament of Catalonia has considered Aranese Occitan to be the preferred language for use in the Val dAran. Unlike other Romance languages such as French or Spanish, there is no written standard language called Occitan. Instead, there are competing norms for writing Occitan, some of which attempt to be pan-dialectal, There are also significant lexical differences, where some dialects have words cognate with French, and others have Catalan and Spanish cognates. Nonetheless, there is a significant amount of mutual intelligibility, the long-term survival of Occitan is in grave doubt. According to the UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages, four of the six dialects of Occitan are considered severely endangered. The name Occitan comes from lenga dòc, òc being the Occitan word for yes and this was not, of course, the only defining characteristic of each group. The word òc came from Vulgar Latin hoc, while oïl originated from Latin hoc illud, Old Catalan, and now the Catalan of Northern Catalonia also have hoc. Other Romance languages derive their word for yes from the Latin sic, thus, etc. such as Spanish sí, Eastern Lombard sé, Sicilian and Italian sì, or Portuguese sim. French uses si to answer yes in response to questions that are asked in the negative sense, the name Occitan is sometimes considered a neologism, however, it was attested around 1300 as occitanus, a crossing of oc and aquitanus. For many centuries, the Occitan dialects were referred to as Limousin or Provençal, after Frédéric Mistrals Félibrige movement in the 19th century, Provençal achieved the greatest literary recognition and so became the most popular term for Occitan. The term first came into fashion in Italy, currently, linguists use the terms Provençal and Limousin strictly to refer to specific varieties within Occitania, keeping the name Occitan for the language as a whole. Many non-specialists, however, continue to refer to the language as Provençal, NO·L LI TOLRÀ NO·L LI DEVEDARÀ NI NO LEN DECEBRÀ. Nec societatem non AURÀ, si per castellum recuperare NON O FA, et si recuperare potuerit in potestate Froterio et Raimundo LO TORNARÀ, carolingian litanies, both written and sung in Latin, were answered to in Old Occitan by the audience. Occitan was the vehicle for the poetry of the medieval troubadours and trobairises, At that time
11.
French Riviera
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The Côte dAzur, often known in English as the French Riviera, is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco. There is no boundary, but it is usually considered to extend from the Italian border in the east to Saint-Tropez, Hyères, Toulon. This coastline was one of the first modern resort areas and it began as a winter health resort for the British upper class at the end of the 18th century. In the summer, it played home to many members of the Rothschild family. After World War II, it became a popular tourist destination and convention site, many celebrities, such as Elton John and Brigitte Bardot, have homes in the region. Officially, the Côte dAzur is home to 163 nationalities with 83,962 foreign residents and its largest city is Nice, which has a population of 347,060. The city is the center of a communauté urbaine – Nice-Côte dAzur – bringing together 24 communes, Nice is home to Nice Côte dAzur Airport, Frances third-busiest airport, which is on an area of partially reclaimed coastal land at the western end of the Promenade des Anglais. A second airport at Mandelieu was once the commercial airport. The A8 autoroute runs through the region, as does the old main road known as the Route nationale 7. Trains serve the region and inland to Grasse, with the TGV Sud Est service reaching Nice-Ville station in five. The French Riviera has a population of more than two million. The region has 35,000 students, of whom 25 percent are working toward a doctorate, the French Riviera is a major yachting and cruising area with several marinas along its coast. As a tourist center, French Riviera benefits from 310 to 330 days of sunshine per year,115 kilometres of coastline, the name Côte dAzur was given to the coast by the writer Stéphen Liégeard in his book, La Côte d’azur, published in December 1887. Liégeard was born in Dijon, in the French department of Côte-dOr, the term French Riviera is typical of English use. It was built by analogy with the term Italian Riviera, which extends east of the French Riviera. As early as the 19th century, the British referred to the region as the Riviera or the French Riviera, usually referring to the part of the coast. Originally, riviera is an Italian noun which means coastline, in Occitan and French, the only usual names are Còsta dAzur in Occitan and Côte dAzur in French. A name like French Riviera is unusual and sounds odd, it could work as a word-to-word translation of the British point of view
12.
Nice
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Nice is the fifth most populous city in France and the capital of the Alpes-Maritimes département. The urban area of Nice extends beyond the city limits. Nice is about 13 kilometres from the principality of Monaco, the city is nicknamed Nice la Belle, which means Nice the Beautiful, which is also the title of the unofficial anthem of Nice, written by Menica Rondelly in 1912. The area of todays Nice contains Terra Amata, a site which displays evidence of a very early use of fire. Around 350 BC, Greeks of Marseille founded a permanent settlement and called it Nikaia, after Nike, through the ages, the town has changed hands many times. Its strategic location and port significantly contributed to its maritime strength, for centuries it was a dominion of Savoy, and was then part of France between 1792 and 1815, when it was returned to Piedmont-Sardinia until its re-annexation by France in 1860. The citys main seaside promenade, the Promenade des Anglais owes its name to visitors to the resort, for decades now, the picturesque Nicean surroundings have attracted not only those in search of relaxation, but also those seeking inspiration. The clear air and soft light have particularly appealed to some of Western cultures most outstanding painters, such as Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Niki de Saint Phalle and Arman. Their work is commemorated in many of the museums, including Musée Marc Chagall, Musée Matisse. Nice has the second largest hotel capacity in the country and it is one of its most visited cities and it also has the third busiest airport in France, after the two main Parisian ones. It is the capital city of the County of Nice. Nice was probably founded around 350 BC by the Greeks of Massalia, the ruins of Cemenelum are in Cimiez, now a district of Nice. In the 7th century, Nice joined the Genoese League formed by the towns of Liguria. In 729 the city repulsed the Saracens, but in 859 and again in 880 the Saracens pillaged and burned it, during the Middle Ages, Nice participated in the wars and history of Italy. As an ally of Pisa it was the enemy of Genoa, during the 13th and 14th centuries the city fell more than once into the hands of the Counts of Provence, but it regained its independence even though related to Genoa. The medieval city walls surrounded the Old Town, the landward side was protected by the River Paillon, which was later covered over and is now the tram route towards the Acropolis. The east side of the town was protected by fortifications on Castle Hill, another river flowed into the port on the east side of Castle Hill. Engravings suggest that the area was also defended by walls
13.
Monaco
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Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state and microstate, located on the French Riviera in Western Europe. France borders the country on three sides while the other side borders the Mediterranean Sea, Monaco has an area of 2.02 km2 and a population of about 38,400 according to the last census of 2015. With 19,009 inhabitants per km², it is the second smallest, Monaco has a land border of 5.47 km, a coastline of 3.83 km, and a width that varies between 1,700 and 349 m. The highest point in the country is a pathway named Chemin des Révoires on the slopes of Mont Agel, in the Les Révoires Ward. Monacos most populous Quartier is Monte Carlo and the most populous Ward is Larvotto/Bas Moulins, through land reclamation, Monacos land mass has expanded by twenty percent, in 2005, it had an area of only 1.974 km2. Monaco is known as a playground for the rich and famous, in 2014, it was noted about 30% of the population was made up of millionaires, more than in Zürich or Geneva. Monaco is a principality governed under a form of constitutional monarchy, although Prince Albert II is a constitutional monarch, he wields immense political power. The House of Grimaldi have ruled Monaco, with brief interruptions, the official language is French, but Monégasque, Italian, and English are widely spoken and understood. The states sovereignty was recognized by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861. Despite Monacos independence and separate foreign policy, its defense is the responsibility of France, however, Monaco does maintain two small military units. Economic development was spurred in the late 19th century with the opening of the countrys first casino, Monte Carlo, since then, Monacos mild climate, scenery, and gambling facilities have contributed to the principalitys status as a tourist destination and recreation center for the rich. In more recent years, Monaco has become a major banking center and has sought to diversify its economy into services and small, high-value-added, the state has no income tax, low business taxes, and is well known for being a tax haven. It is also the host of the street circuit motor race Monaco Grand Prix. Monaco is not formally a part of the European Union, but it participates in certain EU policies, including customs, through its relationship with France, Monaco uses the euro as its sole currency. Monaco joined the Council of Europe in 2004 and it is a member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. Monacos name comes from the nearby 6th-century BC Phocaean Greek colony, according to an ancient myth, Hercules passed through the Monaco area and turned away the previous gods. As a result, a temple was constructed there, the temple of Hercules Monoikos, because the only temple of this area was the House of Hercules, the city was called Monoikos. It ended up in the hands of the Holy Roman Empire, an ousted branch of a Genoese family, the Grimaldi, contested it for a hundred years before actually gaining control
14.
Commune in France
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The commune is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to civil townships incorporated municipalities in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany, the United Kingdom has no exact equivalent, as communes resemble districts in urban areas, but are closer to parishes in rural areas where districts are much larger. Communes are based on historical geographic communities or villages and have received significant powers of governance to manage the populations, the communes are the fourth-level administrative divisions of France. A French commune may be a city of 2.2 million inhabitants like Paris, communes typically are based on pre-existing villages and facilitate local governance. All communes have names, but not all named geographic areas or groups of people residing together are communes, a commune is a town, city, or municipality. Use of commune in English is a habit, and one that might be corrected. There is nothing in commune in French that is different from town in English. The French word commune appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin communia, as of January 2015, there were 36,681 communes in France,36,552 of them in metropolitan France and 129 of them overseas. This is a higher total than that of any other European country. The whole territory of the French Republic is divided into communes and this is unlike some other countries, such as the United States, where unincorporated areas directly governed by a county or a higher authority can be found. There are only a few exceptions, COM of Saint-Martin and it was previously a commune inside the Guadeloupe région. The commune structure was abolished when Saint-Martin became an overseas collectivity on 22 February 2007, COM of Wallis and Futuna, which still is divided according to the three traditional chiefdoms. It was previously a commune inside the Guadeloupe region, the commune structure was abolished when Saint-Barthélemy became an overseas collectivity on 22 February 2007.88 square kilometres. The median area of metropolitan Frances communes at the 1999 census was even smaller, the median area is a better measure of the area of a typical French commune. This median area is smaller than that of most European countries. In Italy, the area of communes is 22 km2, in Belgium it is 40 km2, in Spain it is 35 km2, and in Germany. Switzerland and the Länder of Rhineland-Palatinate, Schleswig-Holstein, and Thuringia in Germany were the places in Europe where the communes had a smaller median area than in France. The communes of Frances overseas départements such as Réunion and French Guiana are large by French standards and they usually group into the same commune several villages or towns, often with sizeable distances among them
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Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
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Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Italian, San Giovanni Capo Ferrato) is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. It is located on a next to Beaulieu-sur-Mer and to Villefranche-sur-Mer. Its tranquillity and warm climate make it a holiday destination among the European aristocracy. Sant Ospizio, a friar, is said to have inhabited a tower on the Eastern part of the peninsula. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat had once known as Cap-Saint-Sospir after a sixth-century monk who had lived in the area. In the 8th century, the history of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat changed when the Saracens occupied the site, by 1388, the territory of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat with the entire County of Nice was given by treaty to the Dukes of Savoy. The history of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat tells that Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy built a fort at Saint-Hospice in 1561 in an effort to secure the coastline from invaders. The fort was destroyed in 1706 by the Duke of Berwick when Nice was occupied by the French armies of King Louis XIV. During the 18th century, the history of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat changed when the area - officially part of the Kingdom of Sardinia - was occupied off and it was returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1814 after Napoleons abdication. In 1860, the County of Nice was finally ceded by treaty to France and the became a magnet for kings and wealthy visitors. The small fishing village of Saint Jean developed and by 1904 was established as a commune with the rest of the peninsula. At the beginning of the 20th century, King Léopold II of Belgium owned an estate on Cap Ferrat and built several houses and an artificial lake. The main residence is the Villa des Cèdres, which has been owned by Marnier-Lapostolle since 1924 and is now in part a garden called the Jardin botanique Les Cèdres. In 1905, Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild chose Cap Ferrat to build a Tuscan-style palazzo and this very scenic location can be rented under special conditions to host galas and events in the lush park and gardens. Today Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat has probably some of the most expensive real estate in the world, current famous residents include Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in Villa Maryland and theatrical composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Major Berkeley Levett, an English aristocrat and witness in the infamous Royal Baccarat Scandal, lived in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat with his heiress wife. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat has a mild Mediterranean climate, average temperatures range from 9 °C in January to 23 °C in the summer. There is very little rainfall in the summer, although occasionally the Mistral winds arrive, it is more sheltered by the mountains than for example St. Tropez, so the winds are not as strong
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Villefranche-sur-Mer
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Villefranche-sur-Mer is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region on the French Riviera. Villefranche-sur-Mer adjoins the city of Nice to the east along Mont Boron, Mont Alban and Mont Vinaigrier, the town limits extend to the hills surrounding the bay climbing from sea level to an altitude of 520 m at Mont-Leuze, reflecting on land the features found offshore. The three Corniches or main roads linking Nice to Italy pass through Villefranche, the site of what is now Villefranche and surrounding Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat has been settled since prehistoric times. Celto-ligurian tribes roamed the area and established farming communities on the surrounding hills, the Greeks and later the Romans used the natural harbour as a stop-over en route to the Greek settlements around the Western Mediterranean. After the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar, the Romans built an extension of the Via Aurelia, by the fall of the Carolingian Empire, the area was part of Lotharingia and later part of the County of Provence. In 1295, Charles II, Duke of Anjou, then Count of Provence, enticed the inhabitants of Montolivo, by charter, he established Villefranche as a free port, thus the name, granting tax privileges and port fee rights that lasted well into the 18th century. By 1388, East Provence became part of the Duchy of Savoy as a result of the succession to the heirless Queen Joan I of Naples. For the next 400 years, the known as the County of Nice was hotly disputed between the Holy Roman Empire to which Savoy was an ally and the French. In the late 17th century, the fell to the French but was returned to Savoy after the Peace of Utrecht. During the 18th century, the city lost some of its importance to the new harbour being built in Nice but remained a military. In 1744, a Franco-Spanish army under the Prince of Conti overran the Piedmontese regiments of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia at the Fort of Mont Alban in the heights above the town. In 1793, the French returned to re-occupy Villefranche and the county of Nice remained part of the Napoleonic Empire until 1814 and it was returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia by the Congress of Vienna. In 1860, as a consequence of the Risorgimento, it was given to France by treaty following a plebiscite, by the late 19th century, it had become an important Russian Navy base and the Russians established an oceanographic laboratory in the old lazaret. The site was also the residence for royalties and wealthy visitors. Villefranches bay is notable for reaching a significant depth only a distance from shore. As a result, it has become an important port over the years, during the most recent years before 1966 the flagship of the Commander Sixth Fleet rotated between USS Springfield and USS Little Rock. Since the 1980s Villefranche has been used by cruise ships and it is the most visited cruise ship port of call in France. Villefranche is now part of the Urban community of Nice Côte dAzur, but Villefranches aging population, like elsewhere in the eastern part of the Alpes-Maritimes, is not being replaced by younger people at the same rate as in the rest of the département
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Marina
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A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large ships or cargo from freighters. The word marina is also used for inland wharves on rivers, marinas may be located along the banks of rivers connecting to lakes or seas and may be inland. They are also located on coastal harbors or coastal lagoons, either as stand alone facilities or within a port complex, a marina may have refueling, washing and repair facilities, marine and boat chandlers, stores and restaurants. A marina may include facilities such as parking lots for vehicles. Slipways transfer a trailered boat into the water, a marina may have a boat hoist well operated by service personnel. A marina may provide in- or out-of-water boat storage, fee-based services such as parking, use of picnic areas, pubs, and clubhouses for showers are usually included in long-term rental agreements. Visiting yachtsmen usually have the option of buying each amenity from a fixed schedule of fees, arrangements can be as wide as a use, such as a shower. The right to use the facilities is frequently extended at overnight or period rates to visiting yachtsmen, since marinas are often limited by available space, it may take years on a waiting list to get a permanent berth. Boats are moored on buoys, on fixed or floating walkways tied to an anchoring piling by a roller or ring mechanism, buoys are cheaper to rent but less convenient than being able to walk from land to boat. Harbor shuttles, may transfer people between the shore and boats moored on buoys, the alternative is a tender such as an inflatable boat. Facilities offering fuel, boat ramps and stores will normally have a common-use dock set aside for such short term parking needs, where the tidal range is large, marinas may use locks to maintain the water level for several hours before and after low water. Marinas may be owned and operated by a club, especially yacht clubs —. Marinas may be private businesses, components of a resort. List of marinas MARINA - Maritime Industry Authority
18.
Villa Kerylos
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Madame Fanny Reinach was a cousin of Maurice Ephrussi, who was married to Béatrice de Rothschild. Inspired by the beauty of the Reinachs Villa Kerylos and the area built the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild at nearby Cap Ferrat. A Greek word, Kerylos means Halcyon or kingfisher which in Greek mythology was considered a bird of good omen, Reinach admired the architecture, interior decoration and art of the ancient world and decided to recreate the atmosphere of a luxurious Greek villa in a new building. Construction of the began in 1902 and took 6 years to complete. The interior integrated influences from Rome, Pompeii and Egypt with the interior decoration overseen by Gustave Louis Jaulmes, stucco bas-reliefs were created by sculptor Paul Jean-Bapiste Gascq. Reinach commissioned exact copies of ancient Grecian chairs, tabourets and klismos furniture kept in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples from the cabinetmaker Bettenfeld, other were to original designs by Pontremoli. The building incorporated all the latest modern early 20th century features including plumbing, upon his death in 1928, Reinach bequeathed the property to the Institut de France, of which he had been a member. His children and grandchildren continued to live there until 1967, when the villa was classified as a Monument historique and it is now a museum open to the public
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Tempe, Arizona
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Tempe, also known as Haydens Ferry during the territorial times of Arizona, is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece, Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix, it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale on the north, Chandler on the south, and Mesa on the east. Tempe is also the location of Arizona State University, the Hohokam lived in this area and built canals to support their agriculture. They abandoned their settlements during the 15th century, with a few individuals, fort McDowell was established approximately 25 mi northeast of present downtown Tempe on the upper Salt River in 1865 allowing for new towns to be built farther down the Salt River. The two settlements were Haydens Ferry, named after a service operated by Charles T. Hayden, and San Pablo. The ferry became the key river crossing in the area, the Tempe Irrigating Canal Company was soon established by William Kirkland and James McKinney to provide water for alfalfa, wheat, barley, oats, and cotton. Pioneer Darrell Duppa is credited with suggesting Tempes name, adopted in 1879, after comparing the Salt River valley near a 300-foot -tall butte, to the Vale of Tempe near Mount Olympus in Greece. The Maricopa and Phoenix Railroad, built in 1887, crossed the Salt River at Tempe, the Tempe Land and Improvement Company was formed to sell lots in the booming town. Tempe became a hub for the surrounding agricultural area. The completion of Roosevelt Dam in 1911 guaranteed enough water to meet the needs of Valley farmers. Less than a later, Arizona was admitted as the 48th state. In the 20th and 21st centuries, Tempe has expanded as a suburb of Phoenix, Tempe is the headquarters and executive office of one Fortune 500 company, Insight Enterprises. Limelight Networks, LifeLock, First Solar, the Salt River Project, Circle K, Fulton Homes, cold Stone Creamery was originally headquartered in Tempe and location #0001 is still in operation today at 3330 S McClintock Drive in Tempe. Tempe is also home to the first and largest campus of Arizona State University and it was the longtime host of the Fiesta Bowl, although the BCS game moved to University of Phoenix Stadium, located in Glendale, in 2007. It then began hosting the Insight Bowl which is now known as the Cactus Bowl, edward Jones Investments has a regional headquarters in Tempe. China Airlines operates the Phoenix office in Tempe, Tempe houses several great performance venues including Gammage Auditorium and the Tempe Center for the Arts. On New Years Eve, the city hosts the Fiesta Bowl Block Party, the event typically has a national band heading a concert, along with several other local and national bands. Gammage Auditorium was also the site of one of the three Presidential debates in 2004, and Super Bowl XXX was played at Sun Devil Stadium, additionally, Tempe is the spring training host city of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
20.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (film)
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Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Frank Oz and starring Steve Martin, Michael Caine and Glenne Headly. The screenplay was written by Dale Launer, Stanley Shapiro, and Paul Henning, it is a remake of the Shapiro and it is the story of two men competing to swindle an American heiress out of $50,000. Caine plays the suave, charming British con man Lawrence Jamieson, who believes in conning corrupt, rich people out of their money so he can spend it on culture and a lavish lifestyle. Martin plays his laddish, arrogant American rival, Freddy Benson and it takes place in the French Riviera. Lawrence Jamieson is an intelligent and sophisticated British con artist operating in the French Riviera with the help of manservant Arthur and he seduces wealthy and morally suspect women and steals their money. His only concern is a con artist known as The Jackal who has been preying on other wealthy victims, when underachieving American hustler Freddy Benson searches for easy marks in Beaumont-sur-Mer, Lawrences home base, Lawrence believes the Jackal has shown his face. Worried that Freddys inexperienced antics will scare away his prey, Lawrence has Freddy arrested, however, Freddy meets one of Lawrences former marks and deduces that he is also a crook. Returning to Beaumont-sur-Mer, Freddy forces Lawrence to take him on as a pupil in exchange for his silence, Lawrence attempts to teach Freddy about high culture with limited success. Freddy, tired of not getting paid and the part he has to play. Lawrence believes there are not enough potential victims in Beaumont-sur-Mer for both of them, so a bet is proposed to decide who will stay, the first to con $50,000 out of a selected mark may remain, the other must leave town. The two select Janet Colgate, a naive American heiress, and embark on their separate strategies while ruthlessly sabotaging each other. When Lawrence discovers this scheme he claims to be Dr. Shaffhausen, insisting Freddys condition is one he can cure, Lawrence discovers that Janet is not wealthy but on vacation as a contest winner, she intends to liquidate most of her assets to pay for Freddys treatment. Touched by Janets kindness, Lawrence calls off the bet, Freddy agrees, but proposes a new bet, Janet herself, with the first to bed her declared the winner. Lawrence refuses to bed Janet, instead the bet will be whether or not Freddy can succeed, Lawrence keeps Janet from having any time alone with Freddy in which they might consummate a relationship. With the help of some British sailors, Freddy waylays Lawrence, Lawrence is present and declares Freddy cured of his ailment. Ushering Freddy out of the room he explains that the sailors released him after discovering that he is a Royal Naval Reserve officer, the sailors, angry at being duped by Freddy, keep him occupied at a party while Lawrence puts Janet on a plane to America. Despite his impending loss, Freddy becomes inebriated and enjoys the party, the next day, instead of boarding her flight, Janet returns to her hotel room to find a repentant Freddy there. They kiss, close the door and begin undressing, the news reaches Lawrence and he accepts his defeat with grace
21.
Pericles
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Pericles was a prominent and influential Greek statesman, orator and general of Athens during the Golden Age—specifically the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars. He was descended, through his mother, from the powerful, Pericles had such a profound influence on Athenian society that Thucydides, a contemporary historian, acclaimed him as the first citizen of Athens. Pericles turned the Delian League into an Athenian empire, and led his countrymen during the first two years of the Peloponnesian War. Pericles promoted the arts and literature, it is principally through his efforts that Athens holds the reputation of being the educational and cultural center of the ancient Greek world and he started an ambitious project that generated most of the surviving structures on the Acropolis. This project beautified and protected the city, exhibited its glory, Pericles also fostered Athenian democracy to such an extent that critics call him a populist. Pericles was born c.495 BC, in Athens, Greece and he was the son of the politician Xanthippus, who, though ostracized in 485–484 BC, returned to Athens to command the Athenian contingent in the Greek victory at Mycale just five years later. Agariste was the great-granddaughter of the tyrant of Sicyon, Cleisthenes, according to Herodotus and Plutarch, Agariste dreamed, a few nights before Pericles birth, that she had borne a lion. Interestingly, legends say that Philip II of Macedon had a dream before the birth of his son. Pericles belonged to the tribe of Acamantis and his early years were quiet, the introverted young Pericles avoided public appearances, instead preferring to devote his time to his studies. His familys nobility and wealth allowed him to pursue his inclination toward education. He learned music from the masters of the time and he is considered to have been the first politician to attribute importance to philosophy and he enjoyed the company of the philosophers Protagoras, Zeno of Elea, and Anaxagoras. Anaxagoras, in particular, became a friend and influenced him greatly. Pericles manner of thought and rhetorical charisma may have been in part products of Anaxagoras emphasis on emotional calm in the face of trouble and his proverbial calmness and self-control are also often regarded as products of Anaxagoras influence. In the spring of 472 BC, Pericles presented The Persians of Aeschylus at the Greater Dionysia as a liturgy, Plutarch says that Pericles stood first among the Athenians for forty years. If this was so, Pericles must have taken up a position of leadership by the early 460s BC- in his early or mid-thirties, throughout these years he endeavored to protect his privacy and to present himself as a model for his fellow citizens. For example, he would often avoid banquets, trying to be frugal, in 463 BC, Pericles was the leading prosecutor of Cimon, the leader of the conservative faction who was accused of neglecting Athens vital interests in Macedon. Although Cimon was acquitted, this proved that Pericles major political opponent was vulnerable. The leader of the party and mentor of Pericles, Ephialtes, the Ecclesia adopted Ephialtes proposal without opposition
22.
Institute of France
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The Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is the Académie française. The Institute, located in Paris, manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and it also awards prizes and subsidies, which amounted to a total of €5,028,190.55 for 2002. Most of these prizes are awarded by the Institute on the recommendation of the académies, the Institut de France was established on 25 October 1795, by the French government. Académie française – initiated 1635, suppressed 1793, restored 1803 as a division of the institute, Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres – initiated 1663. Académie des sciences – initiated 1666, the Royal Society of Canada, initiated 1882, was modeled after the Institut de France and the Royal Society of London
23.
Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department
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The following is a list of the 163 communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department of France. Communauté dagglomération du Pôle Azur Provence, created in 2002, communauté dagglomération de la Riviera Française, created in 2002. Communauté urbaine de Nice-Côte dAzur, created in 2002, communauté dagglomération de Sophia Antipolis, created in 2002
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Aiglun, Alpes-Maritimes
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Aiglun is a French commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region of southeastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aiglenois or Aiglenoises, Aiglun is a remote mountain commune some 40 km north-east of Nice in a straight line. There are only two routes to the commune - the first by Highway D17 from Roquesteron to the east. Heading west on Highway D17 continue left onto Highway D10 which continues via a route into the commune. The other access is the continuation of Highway D10 west from Aiglun over a mountain route to Le Mas. The Estéron river passes through the south of the village. Numerous streams feed into this river in the commune, the northern part of the commune consists of high snow-capped mountains while the southern part is less high mountains. There are few roads however there are four hamlets in the Esteron Valley, Vascogne, Les Lones, Le Colombier, and LEscle. In 1388 the village of Aiglun was under the protection of the House of Savoy like the rest of the region during the Dédition of Nice to Savoy from 1388, at the Treaty of Turin on 24 March 1760, the commune became French. The name of the town appears for the first time in texts around 1200 in the form Ayglezuni and this was derived from the Latin word Aquila, meaning eagle, and the Gallic dunum, meaning height and signifies as a whole the height of the eagle. List of Successive Mayors of Aiglun Mayors from 1942 In 2009 the commune had 91 inhabitants, the evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses conducted in the town since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held five years. Population Change Sources, Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 The village is known for its steep climbing walls over 200 metres high with high difficulty routes, the Aiglun canyon is also popular for canyoning enthusiasts. Daughter of Joseph Robin, who was mayor of Aiglun in the early 20th century, this French theatre actress died in 1982 at Aiglun and her memory is still alive with the people of Aiglun who knew her and plans are underway to honour her. Sometimes these events are carried out in collaboration with the University of Nice, communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department Yves Bernard, The Tourist and Cultural Directory of the Alpes-Maritimes and Monaco, p
25.
Amirat
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Amirat is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. This little village is made up of three quarters, The Agots, with the church and the hostel, Amirat village, where the mayors office is located. Maupoil, location of the 16th century Saint Jeannets Chapel, Amirat had the fourth highest percentage of people who voted for Jean-Marie Le Pen of all French communes during the second round of voting in 2002 -59. 26%. The current mayor is Yvon Michel of the UMP, who was elected in 2005, the communes inhabitants are known as Amiratois. A well known Iyengar yoga instructor, Charles Cartmell, is an Amirat resident, Saint Jeannets Chapel, a 16th-century chapel with lovely wooden gate in Maupoil. Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE Official site
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Andon, Alpes-Maritimes
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Andon is a French commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region of southeastern France. Andon is a home for many coastal residents and for people attracted by the peace and beauty of the area. The ski resort of Audibergue is in Andon commune, the Loup has its source nearby. The village is accessible via the D79 which branches west from the D5 road passing through the village, the D2 road also passes through the north of the commune from Valderoure in the west to Greolieres in the east. The No.400 route of the Sillages Transport Association serves the town from Monday to Friday on request and No.410 route, the climate of the region is Alpine with Mediterranean influences. Winters are cold with warm summers and sunny with cool nights, the rest of the year is rather cool with frosts possible from October to May. The site of Andon village has been occupied since 1000 BC, there are traces of the presence of Ligures in an entrenched camp called Castellaras de la Selle dAndon. This site was occupied by the Romans. Milestones have been found indicating the Via Vintiana connecting Séranon to Gréolières with the names of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and the procurator Julius Honoratus. There are traces of Roman presence at multiple sites in the commune at, la Selle de Caille, la ferme du château, la Moulière, les Teilles, la Selle dAndon, la Baisse, at Collet de la Serre in the castellaras a small necropolis was found. The ruins of a large Roman tomb have been identified near the priory of Clos de Bourges, the village of Andon succeeded a former village which was perched on the Col de Castellaras and whose remains date to the 13th century. It was abandoned after a fire in the 18th century, the village was then rebuilt at the current location. The Count of Provence gave the lordship of Andon to Romée de Villeneuve in 1230, the lordship then passed to the family of Grasse-Bar, then to Russan then Théas. On the eve of the Revolution it belonged, with Thorenc, to Mr. de Fanton, the death of Queen Joanna I of Naples created a crisis of succession for the head of the County of Provence. The cities of the Union of Aix supported Charles of Duras against Louis I of Anjou, the Lord of Andon, Florent de Castellane, endorsed the Angevins in 1385 after the death of Louis I. Canaux appears in texts in 1251, in 1421, the Countess of Provence gave this lordship to Bertrand de Grasse. The original village was located 1 km to the west, in 1623, the Bishop of Grasse dared not climb to Canaux as we are assured that the road is rough and bad. Thorenc is mentioned in texts from 1200 under the name castrum de Torenc or Torenc, the village was originally a lordship of Grasse, then of Boniface de Castellane before depending the Count of Provence in 1235 who passed it to Romée de Villeneuve
27.
Antibes
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Antibes is a Mediterranean resort in the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France, on the Côte dAzur between Cannes and Nice. The town of Juan-les-Pins is in the commune of Antibes and the Sophia Antipolis technology park is northwest of it, traces of occupation dating back to the early Iron Age have been found in the areas of the castle and cathedral. However, most trade was with the Greek world, via the Phocaeans of Marseille, Antipolis was founded by Phocaeans from Massilia. As a Greek colony settlement, it was known as Antipolis from its close to Nice. The exact location of the Greek city is not well known, given Greek colonial practices, it is likely that it was set at the foot of the rock of Antibes in todays old city. Traces of occupation in the Hellenistic period have been identified around the castle, the goods unearthed during these excavations show the dominance of imported products of the Marseilles region, associated with Campanian and indigenous ceramics. Early in the second century BC the Ligurian Deceates and Oxybiens tribes launched repeated attacks against Nikaia, the Greeks of Marseille appealed to Rome as they had already done a few years earlier against the federation of Salyens. In 154 BC the consul Quintus Opimius defeated the Décéates and Oxybiens, Rome gradually increased its hold over the Mediterranean coast. In 43 BC, Antipolis was officially incorporated in the province of Narbonesian Gaul. Antipolis grew into the largest town in the region and an entry point into Gaul. Roman artifacts such as aqueducts, fortified walls. The city was supplied with water by two aqueducts, the Fontvieille aqueduct rises in Biot and eventually joins the coast below the RN7 and the railway track at the Fort Carré. It was discovered and restored in the 18th century by the Chevalier dAguillon for supplying the modern city, the aqueduct called the Bouillide or Clausonnes rises near the town of Valbonne. Monumental remains of aqueduct bridges are located in the neighbourhood of Fugaret, in the forest of Valmasque, like most Roman towns Antipolis possessed these buildings for shows and entertainment. A Roman theatre is attested by the tombstone of the child Septentrion, the inscription says he danced and was popular on the stage of the theatre. The theatre was located, like the amphitheatre, between Rue de la République and Rue de Fersen, near the Porte Royale, the back wall is positioned substantially next to Rue Fourmillère. A radial wall was found on the side of the bus station. A plan of the made in the 16th century is in the Marciana National Library of Venice. The remains of the amphitheatre were still visible at the end of the 17th century during the restructuring of the fortifications of the city, a concentric oval was still visible in many plans of the seventeenth century and in a map of Antibes from the early nineteenth century
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Ascros
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Ascros is a French commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region of south-eastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Ascrossois or Ascrossoises, Ascros is an alpine commune located some 45 km north-west of Nice and 15 km east by south-east of Puget-Théniers. Access to the commune is by the D27 road from Toudon in the south-east passing through the heart of the commune, the D427 road branches off the D27 in the commune and goes south-west to join the D17 road which goes to Sigale in the south. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Rourebel, Les Chats, the commune is very rugged and alpine in nature with large forests. The commune name in Occitan is Als Cros and in Italian Ascroso, many ancient remains have been found in the commune including tombs dating from the Bronze Age and from Antiquity. The village is cited under the name of Castrum de Crocis in 1066 and its current name of Ascros was adopted in 1760. The origin of the name is the Low Latin crosus meaning depression, the current village is located at an altitude of 1,145 metres above sea level in a defensive site. In 1252 Raibaud dAscros, Lord of Ascros or of Crocquio, the commune is a former fief of the barons then the counts of Beuil. They were then summoned to come and explain to the Governor of Nice, on 5 January 1508 in his chateau at Beuil his barber, Esprit Testoris, slit his throat, possibly paid by the Governor of Nice. The County of Beuil then reverted to his brother, Honoré. Honoré I of Beuil, friend of Charles III, Duke of Savoy, was appointed Governor of Nice, in revenge the two brothers laid siege to the chateau of Gilette where the Lord of Les Ferres was but who managed to escape. The Governor of Nice, having seen the troubles that the Duke had made and their father had to seek clemency from the Duke for them, which was obtained by an act of 6 December 1529 after the Paix des Dames or Treaty of Cambrai. Meanwhile, the Lord of Les Ferres retaliated by attacking Rigaud in 1528, rené returned to the county and was murdered in his sleep by one of his servants who was paid by his opponents. Jean-Baptiste then intrigued with France and decided to war against the Duke of Savoy. Jean-Baptiste Grimaldi of Beuil was killed in 1544 at the Battle of Cérisoles fighting for the King of France, the revolt of Annibal Grimaldi brought about his conviction and execution in 1621 and, the chateau was destroyed by order of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy. The fief of Ascros was given to one Galléan then went to the Caissoti family who were Lords of Roubion who also owned the lordship of Toudon, in 1793, during the Battle of Gilette,300 men camped in the village. Apart from the cultivation of cereals, the village also lived on the raising of sheep. Some people also operated small mines and quarries in the late 19th century, during the Second World War the village provided refuge for Jews but a raid led to three arrests
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Aspremont, Alpes-Maritimes
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Aspremont is a French commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region of south-eastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aspremontois or Aspremontoises, Aspremont is located some 10 km north of Nice and 5 km east of Carros. Access to the commune is by road M414 from Nice in the south, by the M14 road from Saint-Blaise in the north, and by the M719 from Tourrette-Levens in the east. Apart from the village there are the towns of Les Salettes, La Plaine, La Valliere, and La Prairie near the village and Les Templiers, Bassac, Cabanes Bletonnieres, the commune is rugged and heavily forested in the west and east. The Magnan river rises near the village and flows south through the heart of the commune then to the Mediterranean sea in the south-west of Nice, soil and sunshine favoured the cultivation of vines, olives, and fruit trees, particularly fig trees. There was production of wine and olive oil in the county until the end of the 19th century, in 1874 Aspremont had its land area divided to create the new communes of Colomars and Castagniers. List of Successive Mayors In 2010 the commune had 2,187 inhabitants, the evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held five years. Magma, a group, has had a recording studio in the commune since 2010
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Auribeau-sur-Siagne
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Auribeau-sur-Siagne is a French commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region of south-eastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Auribélois or Auribéloises, Auribeau-sur-Siagne is a medieval village dating from the 11th century located some 10 km north-west of Cannes and 6 km south-west of Grasse. Perched on a spur, the village overlooks the Siagne river. Access to the commune is by road D9 from Pégomas in the south-east which passes north through the part of the commune. The village, which is in the south of the commune, is accessed by local roads, the commune is served by the Sillages bus network Route 29 that has nine trips per day on weekdays. There are extensive residential areas in the commune with the areas of Le Gabre, Les Vayoux, Le Moulin Vieux, Carel. The rest of the commune is forested with a few patches of farmland. The Siagne river forms the border of the commune with several tributaries flowing south through the commune to join it. Auribeau is one of the hilltop villages in Alpes-Maritimes built to enable the population to protect themselves against external aggressors. The earliest traces of occupation are an Oppidum located at the top of mount Peygros. At Mandelieu a secondary road split off to follow the Siagne up to Auribeau, in an act of 1158, the pope confirmed ownership by the Bishops of Antibes of the fields and tithes of the churches of Auribeau, Pégomas, Notre-Dame-de-Valcluse and Mouans. A text from 1242 reads Auribeau church and castle which indicates that the village existed at that time, the population of the village was decimated in the middle of the 14th century in the wake of war and the Black Plague. The raids by Raymond de Turenne continued to devastate the region until 1399, a text from 1400 describes the place as deserted, castle completely destroyed near the church of Our Lady which is now open to the skies and partially destroyed. In an agreement dated 5 June 1497 the Bishop of Grasse, Jean-André Grimaldi requested the people of the dioceses of Albenga, therefore, the village that we see today dates from the 16th century. The church however, which is located outside the village walls, in the 16th century the Siagne river was navigable between Auribeau and Mandelieu and served as a transportation route. In 1692, commune residents opposed the requisitioning of workers to build the fortifications at Antibes, in 1707, during the War of Spanish Succession, the village was invaded and sacked by the French and Austro-Sardinian armies. In 1720 the Plague of Marseille led to the closure of the village, in 1765 Auribeau had 560 inhabitants. The number of inhabitants at the last census was between 2500 and 3499 so the number of members of the council is 23
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Auvare
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Auvare is a French commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region of south-eastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Auvarois or Auvaroises, Auvare is located some 45 km north-east of Nice and 6 km north-east of Puget-Théniers in the heart of the Alps. Access to the commune is by the D16 road from Puget-Theniers which passes through the far south of the commune and continues, changing its designation to D316, to join the D2202 just south of Daluis. Access to the village in the centre of the commune is by a local road which branches from the D16 in the south of the commune and follows a tortuous. There is also an equally tortuous route going west from the village which eventually meets the D316 west of the commune, apart from the village there is the hamlet of Les Vignes towards the south. The terrain of the commune is alpine and very rugged with no apparent farmland, after the Roman conquest, Augustus organized the Alps into provinces. The territory of the present commune of Auvare was part of the province of Alpes Maritimae which was attached to the civitas of Glanate, in late antiquity the Diocese of Glandevès defined the limits of this civitas. The Roudoule Valley was conquered by the French Revolutionary Army in October 1792, the region was annexed by the decree of 31 January 1793 and confirmed by the Treaty of Paris. The French Revolution was apparently well received since a Liberty Tree was planted and remained until the Restoration of the Savoyard State in 1814, the Savoyards hastened to levy taxes bringing a new upheaval to the Auvare community. List of Successive Mayors Since 1 January 2014 Auvare has been part of the Community of communes of Alpes dAzur and it was previously a member of the Community of communes des vallées dAzur until this disappeared during the implementation of a new departmental plan for inter-communal cooperation. In 2010 the commune had 49 inhabitants, the evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held five years. Population Change Sources, Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 The main economic resource is sheep farming, communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department Yves Bernard, Tourist and Cultural Annual for Alpes-Maritimes and Monaco, p
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Bairols
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Bairols is a French commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region of south-eastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Bairolois or Bairoloises, the commune has been awarded two flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom. Bairols is located at an altitude of 830 metres on a ridge some 20 km north of Gilette and 5 km north of Villars-sur-Var. The commune is an alpine commune. The Tinée river forms the border of the commune as it flows south to join the Var. Many tributaries rise in the commune and flow east to join the Tinée including the Vallon du Serre, the Ruisseau de Fava, the Vallon du Bairols, the name Bairolum is cited around 1040. The village was given to Lérins Abbey then became a fief of the Grimaldi. The village was linked to the world by a motorable road in 1939. There were still 257 inhabitants in 1858, list of Successive Mayors In 2010 the commune had 107 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held five years. Population Change Sources, Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 Ruins of a Chateau The Medieval Church of Sainte-Marguerite whose S form is due to the topography, inside there are two frescoes in the choir on the theme of the Baptism of Christ. The church has a painting by Jean Rocca of the Virgin of the Rosary, the church also contains a Group Sculpture on a Processional dais of Saint Marguerite and the Tarasque which is registered as an historical object. Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department Philippe de Beauchamp, The misunderstood High Country, isolated Villages and Hamlets of Alpes-Marities, p.81, éditions Serre, Nice,1989, ISBN 2-86410-131-9, p.159 Bairols on Lion1906 Bairols on the INSEE website INSEE
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Le Bar-sur-Loup
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Le Bar-sur-Loup is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Originally known simply as Le Bar, the commune become known as Le Bar-sur-Loup by a decree dated 27 March 1961 published in the Journal Officiel on 1 April and its inhabitants are known as Aubarnais - Aubarnenc in Occitan - or simply Barois. The commune gets its name from the Loup, a river that runs through it. The Loup flows into the Mediterranean near Villeneuve-Loubet, famous ruins of a viaduct are located in a village near Le Bar-sur-Loup. The viaduct was destroyed by German soldiers who occupied the village during the Second World War, towards the end of the war, the Germans evacuated the village and blew up the viaduct. Later, la Compagnie des Grands Travaux de Marseille ordered the destruction of remaining parts of the viaduct that were close to collapse, on the other hand, pillars that were considered as non-dangerous were left in place, and serve as a reminder of the time for local inhabitants. Church of Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur The carvings on the door are quite notable, on the inside, one can see an altarpiece painted by Ludovico Brea dating to the 16th century as well as statues from the 17th century. In the back of the church, there is a carving of a danse macabre from the 15th century. Le château des comtes de Grasse A quadrangular building built on vaulted cellars, the castle was sacked in 1792 and sold to the villagers in 1832. Restored, it was divided into apartments and it was the birthplace of François Joseph Paul de Grasse, Comte de Grasse and French naval general, on 13 September 1722. At the entrance to the courtyard before the castle, one can see a square tower. This is the old keep, now a tourist office. Before it was dismantled in 1792 it had seven storeys, a museum has been set up on the first floor which tells the stories of the villages most famous residents. The Chateau de Grasse is now a hotel, during Lent, a count in Le Bar held a party during which all the guests died. A danse macabre was painted to commemorate the divine punishment and it shows Death as an archer, firing arrows at the guests. Ghosts rise from the mouths of the corpses in the form of small, naked people, the ghosts are then sent into the jaws of a monster, representing the entrance to hell. It was the birthplace of 18th-century Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse, Le Bar-sur-Loup has a sister city, Poquoson, Virginia, United States of America. Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE
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Beausoleil, Alpes-Maritimes
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Beausoleil is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. It adjoins the Principality of Monaco, Beausoleil was formerly known as Monte-Carlo-Supérieur. Located on a hillside above the city-state of Monaco, Beausoleil is surrounded by the Tête de Chien and it is urbanistically contiguous with the principality and shares some streets, as the Boulevard de France, the Boulevard du Maréchal Leclerc, and the Avenue du Maréchal Foch. The commune is very intertwined on Monaco and it functions to some extent as a bedroom community as many of its residents are employed in Monaco. The main part of the consists of Belle Époque houses with ornate entrances. Interesting attractions within Beausoleil include the Gustave Eiffel covered market, St Josephs Sanctuary, another attraction is its Stade Vanco, a well-appointed sports centre. Given the towns proximity to Monaco, real estate in Beausoleil is usually prohibitively expensive for many, the towns border with Monaco was largely fixed during the 18th century. What is now known as Beausoleil was administered from La Turbie prior to 1904 and this may seem strange since Monacos political parties are more right-leaning. Beausoleil is the home of many Filipino and Portuguese immigrants, communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE Beausoleil official site Official Office of Tourism website
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Beuil
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Beuil is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Beuil is a located in the Maritime Alps,78 km away from Nice. It is the gateway to the Mercantour National Park, a stop-off in the Red-rocked Gorges of the Cians and Daluis. The commune is traversed by the Raton River, communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department INSEE Official site
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Biot, Alpes-Maritimes
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Biot is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur region in southeastern France. It is located near Antibes Juan-les-Pins, between Cannes and Villeneuve-Loubet on the top of a hill overlooking the Mediterranean, about 40 kilometers from Monte Carlo, Biot was a pottery centre from the beginning of the 16th century until the 18th century. In the middle of the 20th century, Biot once again famous for its decorative pottery. Biot is well known for its glassblowers and bubble glass products Eloi Monod started the villages glass-blowing tradition, the Fernand Léger museum stands at the foot of the village. European Heart House, the headquarters of the European Society of Cardiology, is located in Sophia Antipolis. Toyota ED2 design center is located here, ED2 leads the design of the future Toyota automobiles in Europe and beyond. Once inhabited by Celts, Biot was conquered by the Roman legion two thousand years ago, which remained there for five hundred years. In 1209 it was a village of Knights Templar who were replaced in 1312 by the Knights of Malta, from 12th to 14th century, remarkable result of original charters from the archives of the Temple, gives us a perfect idea of the castrum and the village of Biot. In 1209, the Count Alfonso II of Provence gives to the Order of the Temple all his possessions in Biot. In January 1308, the Count of Provence Charles II of Naples, obeying the instructions of the Pope Clement V, Knights Templar in front of the pope will surrender. Many families of knights Templar emigrated to parts of Europe. All the assets of the Knights Templar are delivered to the Order of Saint John, in 1387 the town was destroyed by the war. In 1470 Biotti was repopulated with 50 families emigrated from western Liguria, even today many residents speak a language unique in the world, the variant Biot of Figun. Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department Official website Virtual visit of the old village with fullscreen panoramas Fernand Léger Museum INSEE
Coolidge, William (1911). "Beaulieu". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
