Carpentras (, formerly ;

Provençal Provençal may refer to: *Of Provence, a region of France * Provençal dialect, a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the southeast of France *''Provençal'', meaning the whole Occitan language *Franco-Provençal language, a distinct Roman ...

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; o ...

: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; la, Carpentoracte) is a commune in the Vaucluse

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. As capital of the Comtat Venaissin, it was frequently the residence of the

Avignon popes The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon – at the time within the Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire; now part of France – rather than in Rome. The situation arose ...

; the Papal States retained possession of the Venaissin until the French Revolution. Nowadays, Carpentras is a commercial center for Comtat Venaissin and is famous for the

black truffle ''Tuber melanosporum'', called the black truffle, Périgord truffle or French black truffle, is a species of truffle native to Southern Europe. It is one of the most expensive edible mushrooms in the world. Taxonomy Italian naturalist Carlo Vi ...

markets held from winter to early spring. Carpentras briefly held France's all-time high-temperature record, during the heatwave of June 2019.

History

Classical antiquity

Carpentras Stela, in CIS II 141 (cropped)

Carpentras was a commercial site used by Greek merchants in ancient times, and known to Romans at first as Carpentoracte Meminorum, mentioned by Pliny, then renamed Forum Neronis ("Forum of Nero"); the city retains an impressive Roman triumphal arch, that has been enclosed by the bishops' palace, rebuilt in 1640, now a law court, and a machicolated

city gate A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...

, the ''Porte d'Orange''. Hotel dieu carpentras by JM Rosier

Ancient Diocese of Carpentras

For the history of the bishopric of Carpentras, see Ancient Diocese of Carpentras.

Middle Ages

At the beginning of the Avignon Papacy, Pope Clement V took up residence, along with the Roman Curia, in Carpentras in 1313. His successor,

Pope John XXII Pope John XXII ( la, Ioannes PP. XXII; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope, elected by ...

, settled definitively at

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

Municipal library

Joseph-Dominique d'Inguimbert, Bishop of Carpentras from 1735 to 1754, established a great scholarly library which Jean-François Delmas, the chief librarian as of 2009, has called "the oldest of our municipal libraries"; known as the

Bibliothèque Inguimbertine The Bibliothèque Inguimbertine is a scholarly library located in Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; la, Carpentoracte) is a commune in the Vauc ...

and now holding around 140,000 books, it is known to bibliophiles all over France and is scheduled to move into roomier quarters in the former

Hôtel-Dieu In French-speaking countries, a hôtel-Dieu ( en, hostel of God) was originally a hospital for the poor and needy, run by the Catholic Church. Nowadays these buildings or institutions have either kept their function as a hospital, the one in Paris b ...

in 2013.

French Revolution and return to France

Until 1791, Carpentras was part of the Papal States, not of the Kingdom of France. Like most communities across France, Carpentras played a role in the 1789-1799 French Revolution, particularly during the rule of the

French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and r ...

. After the 'Anti-Royalist' September 4, 1797

Coup of 18 Fructidor The Coup of 18 Fructidor, Year V (4 September 1797 in the French Republican Calendar), was a seizure of power in France by members of the Directory, the government of the French First Republic, with support from the French military. The coup wa ...

, on October 22, 1797, counter-revolutionaries take the city's government and hold it in protest for 24 hours.

Jewish community

Into the 20th and 21st centuries, Carpentras has been an important centre of French Judaism and is home to the oldest

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

in France, which opened in 1367 and is still active today. The Jewish cemetery was desecrated by members of the

French and European Nationalist Party The French and European Nationalist Party (french: Parti nationaliste français et européen or PNFE) was a French nationalist militant organization active between 1987 and 1999. Led by Claude Cornilleau until 1996, its slogan was "France first, ...

in May 1990, causing a public uproar and a demonstration in Paris that was attended by 200,000 people, including then-president

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

Population

Geography

Carpentras stands on the banks of the river

Auzon Auzon (; oc, Auson) is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France. Population See also *Communes of the Haute-Loire department *Franks Casket The Franks Casket (or the Auzon Casket) is a small Anglo-Saxon whale's bone ...

, a tributary of the Sorgue. It is 23 km southwest of Mont Ventoux, and 23 km northeast of

Carpentras station Carpentras station is a railway station serving the town Carpentras, Vaucluse department, southeastern France. It is the terminus of the railway line from Sorgues to Carpentras, which was closed for passenger traffic in 1938, but reopened after re ...

has rail connections to Sorgues and Avignon.

Climate

In the Köppen climate classification, Carpentras has a borderline humid subtropical (''Cfa''), and hot-summer mediterranean climate (''Csa'') with cool winters and hot summers. The rainiest seasons are spring (April–May) and autumn (September–October), where heavy downpours may happen.

Traditions

Carpentras is famous for the Truffle market that takes place every Friday morning during the winter months.Truffle Market
/ref> Its traditional confectionery is the ''berlingot'', a small hard candy with thin white stripes, originally made from the syrup left over from conservation of fruits.

Personalities

Carpentras was the birthplace of (chronologically): * Carpentras (also known as Elzéar Genet) (c.1470–1548), prominent early Renaissance composer *

Hercule Audiffret Hercule Audiffret (15 May 1603 – 6 or 16 April 1659), known as "le Père Hercule", was a French orator, religious writer and Superior General of the Congrégation des Doctrinaires. He was the maternal uncle of Esprit Fléchier. Life Hercule Au ...

(1603-1659), orator and Superior General of the '' Congrégation des Doctrinaires'' *

Louis Archimbaud Louis Archimbaud (November 1705 – 13 May 1789) was a Comtadin composer. He was one of the last representatives of the Baroque style of French organ school. Archimbaud was born in Carpentras and educated there in the Carpentras Cathedral school. ...

(1705–1789), composer and organist of

Carpentras Cathedral Carpentras Cathedral (''Cathédrale Saint-Siffrein de Carpentras'') is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral in Carpentras, Provence, France. The church was built in the 15th century by the order of Benedict XIII. The site used to be a Rom ...

* Joseph Duplessis (1725–1802), portraitist *

Jean-Pierre-Xavier Bidauld Jean-Pierre-Xavier Bidauld (30 June 1743 – 1 November 1813) was a French painter, mainly of landscape painting, landscapes and still lifes. Born in Carpentras, he died in Lyon. He was the older brother, and first teacher, of Jean-Joseph-Xavier ...

(1743–1813),

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld (10 April 1758 – 20 October 1846) was a French painter. A native of the city of Carpentras, Bidauld first studied painting with his elder brother, Jean-Pierre-Xavier Bidauld, Jean-Pierre-Xavier, in Lyons. In 1783 he ...

(1758–1846),

Alexis-Vincent-Charles Berbiguier de Terre-Neuve du Thym Alexis-Vincent-Charles Berbiguier de Terre-Neuve du Thym or better known as M. Berbiguier (1765 – December 3, 1851) was a French author and demonologist who may have been suffering from psychosis. He was born, and died, in Carpentras in the sou ...

, (1765–1851), author and demonologist * Victor Olivier de Puymanel (1768–1799), French Navy volunteer, and adventurer in Vietnam * François-Vincent Raspail (1794–1878), chemist,

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical a ...

, and socialist *

Jean-Joseph Bonaventure Laurens Jean-Joseph Bonaventure Laurens (14 July 1801, Carpentras – 28 June 1890, Montpellier) was regarded by some as a "universal spirit", as attested not only by his Oil painting, paintings, watercolours and lithographs, but also by his vocation as ...

(1801–1890),

, lithographer,

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

* Édouard Daladier (1884–1970) politician and

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister ...

at the start of the Second World War *

Daniel Lazard Daniel Lazard (born December 10, 1941) is a French mathematician and computer scientist. He is emeritus professor at the University of Paris VI. Career Daniel Lazard was born in Carpentras, in southern France. After his undergraduate educati ...

(1941–),

computer scientist A computer scientist is a person who is trained in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation, as opposed to the hardware side on which computer engineers mainly focus (al ...

* Bruno Boscherie (1950–), fencer, Olympic Gold medalist *

Christophe Maé Christophe Martichon (; born 16 October 1975), better known by his stage name Christophe Maé (), is a French pop singer. Career Maé learned to play the violin at age five, and later began playing the guitar and harmonica at age 16 after he wa ...

(1975–),

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Éric Salignon Éric Salignon (born 22 July 1982 in Carpentras) is a French racing driver. Career Formula Renault A former two-time winner of the Monaco Kart Cup, Salignon moved into Formula Renault in 2000, competing in both the Eurocup Formula Renault 2. ...

(1982–), racing driver *

Thomas Mangani Thomas Mathieu Romain Mangani (born 29 April 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Ajaccio. Career In summer 2014, Mangani left France to play for Chievo, signing a two-year contract with the Serie A club ...

(1987–), professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

Raphaël Cacérès Raphaël Cacérès (born 1 September 1987) is a French former professional footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, A ...

(1987–), professional footballer

International relations

Carpentras is twinned with: * Vevey, Switzerland * Seesen, Germany * Ponchatoula, Louisiana, USA * Camaiore, Italy

References

External links

*
Carpentras official website
(in French) * * Pictures of Carpentras Cathedral

* Pictures of Carpentras Synagogue

{{Authority control Carpentras, Communes of Vaucluse Subprefectures in France