Saint-Gilles (;
Provençal: ''Sant Geli''; en, St. Giles) or Saint-Gilles-du-Gard is a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
Gard
Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;[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 southern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
It is the second most populous commune in the
Nîmes
Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
.
History
The
abbey of Saint-Gilles
The Abbey of Saint-Gilles (French: ''Abbaye de Saint-Gilles '') is a monastery in Saint-Gilles, southern France. Founded by Saint Giles, it is included in the UNESCO Heritage List, as part of the World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago d ...
was founded during the seventh century traditionally by the
hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
Saint Giles
Saint Giles (, la, Aegidius, french: Gilles), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 6th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly lege ...
(
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''Ægidius''), whose
relics
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
the abbey possessed. The commune formed around the nucleus of the abbey, which was the first stopping point for pilgrims bound for
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...
in Spain, who were following the ''via Tolosana'' that led from
Arles
Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...
to
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
and crossed the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
to join other routes at
Puente La Reina
Puente la Reina (Spanish meaning literally the "bridge of the Queen"; eu, Gares) is a town and municipality located in the autonomous community of Navarre, in northern Spain.
Puente la Reina lies between Pamplona and Estella on the Way of St. ...
, thence to Santiago along the
Via Compostelana. The former abbey church was listed in 1998 among the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Sites
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...
, as part of the
Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France
UNESCO designated the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France as a World Heritage Site in December 1998. The routes pass through the following regions of France: Aquitaine, Auvergne, Basse-Normandie, Bourgogne, Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Ile-de ...
. The abbey church's west portal is among the most beautiful of the great
Romanesque portals and a definitive example of the
Provençal Romanesque. The church has three
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
s and a famed spiral staircase of
cantilever
A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...
ed stone steps (in the now destroyed part of the church). During the
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estim ...
the Protestants fortified themselves within the abbey, which was severely damaged.
The shrine of Saint Gilles, located in the crypt of the church, is the subject of pilgrimage in particular by women wishing to become pregnant or dealing with infertility.
Saint-Gilles was the birthplace of Guy Foulques,
Pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV ( la, Clemens IV; 23 November 1190 – 29 November 1268), born Gui Foucois ( la, Guido Falcodius; french: Guy de Foulques or ') and also known as Guy le Gros ( French for "Guy the Fat"; it, Guido il Grosso), was bishop of Le P ...
(died 1268), whose natal house is now a museum of the archaeology, ethnology and ornithology of the Camargue.
Saint-Gilles is more recently the birthplace of the author
Georges-Jean Arnaud
Georges-Jean Arnaud (July 3, 1928 – April 26, 2020) was a French author.
Biography
Arnaud was born in Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, Camargue, Gard. He was first published in 1971 in the science fiction magazine ''Anticipation'' from the French publis ...
(born 1928).
Geography
Saint-Gilles is located at the northern edge of the ''
Petite Camargue
Camargue (, also , , ; oc, label= Provençal, Camarga) is a region of France located south of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône delta. The eastern arm is called the ''Grand Rhône''; the western one is the ''P ...
'', between
Arles
Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...
(15 km) and
Nîmes
Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...
(16 km). With a land area of 153.73 km² (59.355 sq mi), it is rather large by continental French standards, although many of the communes in this part of France are among the largest in area in
Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...
.
Population
Transportation
The
Nîmes-Alès-Camargue-Cévennes Airport, sometimes called Garons Airport, is located on the territory of the commune.
Notable people
*
Abba Mari ben Isaac of St Gilles
See also
*
Communes of the Gard department
This is a list of the 351 Communes of France, communes of the Gard Departments of France, department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (as of 2020):
*
Costières de Nîmes AOC
References
Further reading
* Whitney S. Stoddard, 1973. ''The Façade of Saint-Gilles-du-Gard: Its Influence on French Sculpture'' (Wesleyan University Press,)
External links
Official website
Official town hall website the other
A tinted plaster caste at the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh.
Regordane Info - The independent portal for The Regordane Way or St Gilles TrailThe Regordane finishes in Saint-Gilles. (in English and French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saintgilles
Communes of Gard
World Heritage Sites in France