Sainte-Marie-de-Ré is a commune

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 Charente-Maritime

Charente-Maritime

Charente-Maritime is a department on the west coast of France named after the Charente River.- History :Previously a part of Saintonge, Charente-Inférieure was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...

 department in southwestern 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...

.

Geography

Sainte-Marie-de-Ré is a small village, on the southern coast of the Île de Ré

Île de Ré

Île de Ré is an island off the west coast of France near La Rochelle, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait....

, facing the Île d'Oléron.

The coastal part is bordered by beaches and small cliffs.

History

Sainte-Marie (as a word) was first used as a designation for a Parish Church in the late 12th century. The village centered around grape farming for over a millennium and maintains a strong rural identity. The commune was officially begun in 1790.

Population

• Inhabitants of Sainte-Marie-de-Ré: Maritais.
• Inhabitants of La Noue: Nouais.

Economy

• Agriculture: grape vineyards, asparagus, potatoes.
• Tourism.
• Thalassotherapy
  Thalassotherapy
  Thalassotherapy is the unproven medical use of seawater as a form of therapy. The properties of seawater are believed to have beneficial effects upon the pores of the skin. Thalassotherapy was developed in seaside towns in Brittany, France during the 19th century...
  
  : The thalassotherapy center on the waterfront of the south-eastern edge of Sainte-Marie was expanded in 2004.
• Computer information technology.

Religious sites

• The Parish church, Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption at Sainte-Marie de Ré whose existence was first recorded in the late 12th century. In 1467 the church was fortified and a moat surrounding the church was dug.
• The Saint Sauveur Chapel at La Noue.

Civil sites

• A Monument to the Dead
  War memorial
  A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...
  
  .
• A monument by sculptor Mélanie Quentin called "La Connaissance" which was installed in 2006.
• The Magayant house, a fishing museum.