Captivated by the harmony of the sober lines of Valensole's plateau, I tried with this photographic work to encompass a precise geographic location and to portray its different aspects: the peoples, the artists, the hilly landscapes, the varied, evolutionary colours and some some of the activities. These shots were taken within a radius of 20 km of Valensole. Valensole's region is inside the park of Verdon.
Photographer Advises :
Best time for lavender pictures is approximately from 15th of June
to 15th July, of course it's depend on weather, plateau de Valensole is a
wide place, to see nice fields take the road form Valensole to Puimoisson then
to St Jurs, or from Valensole to Allemagne en Provence. You can drive or
take your bicycle (as me) to Riez then in direction of St Croix du Verdon,
before this village turn left to small road to Moustier St Marie.
Other place to make pictures are in
North Luberon or around a Village call Banon,
and they is hundred others places in Drôme department.. By the end of July be careful that lavender is completely
cut/harvest and you will have to wait an other year to see blue/purple
landscape, then you might find still lavender fields in higher mountain part.
VALENSOLE :
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, The Alps of High Provence
II) History
I) Geographic
Valensole : elevation : 569 metres.
Population : 2450 inhabitants
Valensole plateau is 800 km² (133 times larger than Gilbraltar 6 km²) which represente 2% of Provence 31500 km². The Provence include six states (departements) : Alpes-de-Hautes-Provence, Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and Vaucluse.
This very vast
plateau covers several
municipalities of which the main villages are Valensole,
Puimoisson, Brunet and Riez. Valensole
covers an area of about 13.500 hectares, in which lie the
valleys of Durance and Asse. Valensole is effectively one of
the vastest municipalities of France.
The completely original and unique formation in our mountain range of
the Pre-Alps is due to the effect of the glaciers and to their recession
where the land settled at the horizontal height of melting of
snows. The plateau of Valensole is on an immense
moraine, which was cut by the erosion giving us
so many valleys which are popular with cyclists.
Situated 13 km
from Riez and Gréoux, 15 km from Puimoisson and d’Oraison and
within 20 km of Manosque, the
heart of magnificent fields planted with lavandins, with cereal
of
almonds, Valensole - village of
the Alps of Provence has preserved the authentic character of a
Provencal village.
The sky is clear and the horizon is magnificent. The
plateau is particularly beautiful in spring, from the end of
June the golden fields of wheat
contrasts with the bloom of the lavandin. The farming of the plateau with agricultural
crops brings a variety of constant colours. The often ochre
soil is an important element of the landscape.
The unique character of this plateau
is generated by a spacious palette of impressive colours, an
explosive contrast between the soil, the various crops and the colour
of the sky. The horizon marks
a stark divide with
the mountains of Verdon on one side and the mountains of Lurs of
the other. It is easy to take landmarks from this
even our extraterrestrial
friends ( surely having access to our same roadmaps) came to
visit the plateau repeatedly.
Far from the tourist industry the inhabitants of Valensole's region are highly unaffected
.
II) History :
Considering its exposure to the Southeast, in the Middle
Age, the name Valensole was derived from
de Vallis Solis:
" valley of the Sun ". Later,
after the discovery of the gallo-Roman remains in a nearby valley, éthymologistes
interprets Valensole " Variance Solum " the land
of the Variances, the name of the tribe living there at that time.
It wasn’t until the 10th century, during
invasions by barbarians, the inhabitants sought refuge at the top of the
village in the
fortifications of the reigning lord of the village. In 1682, the plague
hit the village during
long months.
The population was decimated and a hospital to treat victims of the plague was
established in the district
remote from the Trinity. One can still see the chapel built over the graveyard
where the victims were buried.
In 1720 the plague returned, the population was ready to
deal with it, and imposed
quarantine controls, created health management procedures within the plateau
and in neighbouring Durance.
In 1790, there existed an orphanage and two schools, and
the population reached
3134 inhabitants by this time.
The predominantly peasant inhabitants on the plateau, just
survived on their harvests until the
advent of fertilizers which improved
the returns and the quality of life. The development of mechanization
caused a the drift from
the land, but made easier the
work of those who remained. Nowadays, agriculture is not
such a big employer, and a large part
of the population works in service industries around here and in the local towns.
Provence, Photography, Valensole
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