Le Tholonet
Encyclopedia
Le Tholonet is a commune
in the Bouches-du-Rhône
department in southern France
. Its inhabitants are called Tholonétiens.
, and at the foot of the montagne Sainte-Victoire
. The river Arc
goes through the commune.
The hamlet of Palette, which gives its name to the Palette AOC
appellation
, is located on the commune's territory.
, and are located in the Infernet and Espinades ranges.
In the nineteenth century, a small oppidum
named "Ragabom camp" or "Ratabom camp" was discovered at the Infernet site. The camp consists of fortifications build with large stone blocks. The ruins are barely discernible today. Archeological surveys done from 1979-1980 helped discover furnishings dated from the Iron Ages up to the 2nd century BC, a time when the site was highly populated.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:...
department in southern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Its inhabitants are called Tholonétiens.
Geography
The commune is near Aix-en-ProvenceAix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
, and at the foot of the montagne Sainte-Victoire
Montagne Sainte-Victoire
Montagne Sainte-Victoire — in Provençal Occitan: Venturi / Santa Venturi according to classical orthography and Ventùri / Santo Ventùri according to Mistralian orthography — is a limestone mountain ridge in the south of France which extends over 18 kilometres between the départements of...
. The river Arc
Arc (Provence)
The Arc is an 83 km long river in the south of France. It arises at an altitude of 470 m, close to the village of Pourcieux. It then passes through Aix-en-Provence before flowing into the Étang de Berre, a lake to the west of Marseille....
goes through the commune.
The hamlet of Palette, which gives its name to the Palette AOC
Palette AOC
Palette is a small wine AOC in the Provence region of southern France, near Aix-en-Provence. The AOC was established in 1948.Red, white and rosé wines are produced, in approximately equal quantities. The red wines must contain at least 50% of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Cinsaut...
appellation
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...
, is located on the commune's territory.
History
The earliest signs of human presence can be dated back to the Iron AgeIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
, and are located in the Infernet and Espinades ranges.
In the nineteenth century, a small oppidum
Oppidum
Oppidum is a Latin word meaning the main settlement in any administrative area of ancient Rome. The word is derived from the earlier Latin ob-pedum, "enclosed space," possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *pedóm-, "occupied space" or "footprint."Julius Caesar described the larger Celtic Iron Age...
named "Ragabom camp" or "Ratabom camp" was discovered at the Infernet site. The camp consists of fortifications build with large stone blocks. The ruins are barely discernible today. Archeological surveys done from 1979-1980 helped discover furnishings dated from the Iron Ages up to the 2nd century BC, a time when the site was highly populated.
Population
Sights
- The ChâteauChâteauA château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
du Tholonet (in its current form) was built by Alexandre de Galliffet in the 1640s. Galliffet had bought the plot from the Jarente family, and was president of the Aix-en-Provence parliament. His grandson Louis-François added a theater for his mistress Émilie de Marignane, wife of the famous orator Mirabeau. A marble cutting mill was used for Tholonet marble, known under the name Brêche d'Alep. Currently, the domain is owned by the Société du Canal de Provence (SCP). - Ruins of the Roman aqueductAqueductAn aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
that brought water from Saint-Antonin to Aix-en-ProvenceAix-en-ProvenceAix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
. This fifteen-kilometre aqueduct bridge, located in the Cause ravine, had a rate of nearly 80 liters per second and was one of four aqueducts that supplied Aquae Sextiae, Aix-en-Provence during the Roman period. The Aix painter Jean-Antoine ConstantinJean-Antoine ConstantinJean-Antoine Constantin, , was a French painter.-Biography:Born in the vicinity of the Loubière, in Marseille, Jean-Antoine Constantin studied at the Academy of Painting in Marseille under the tutelage of Jean-Joseph Kappeler, David de Marseille, and Jean-Baptiste Giry...
drew sketches of it, which are now in the Aix-en-Provence Méjanes libraries. - An old windmillWindmillA windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
that has been restored. Currently it is used to host painting and sculpture exhibitions.
Media
- Paul CézannePaul CézannePaul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
, who painted Sainte-Victoire and the black castle at Tholonet, would often eat at the Berne restaurant, today named Relais Cézanne. - Jacqueline de RomillyJacqueline de RomillyJacqueline Worms de Romilly, née David was a French philologist, classical scholar and fiction writer. Because she was of Jewish ancestry, the Vichy government suspended her from her teaching duties during the Occupation of France. she was the first woman nominated to the Collège de France, and in...
, member of the Académie françaiseAcadémie françaiseL'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
, wrote the book Sur les chemins de Sainte-Victoire, published by Fallois (2001). - In 2006, Michel Bernascolle's book Les Rapegons de Sainte-Victoire was published by Cheminements.
Personalities
- Georges DubyGeorges DubyGeorges Duby was a French historian specializing in the social and economic history of the Middle Ages...
, a medieval historianHistorianA historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and former member of the Académie françaiseAcadémie françaiseL'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
, is buried in Tholonet's small cemetery.
External links
- Official website
- Le Tholonet on the French Wikipedia's site