Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (; Provençal Occitan: ''Sant Romieg de Provença'' in classical and ''Sant Roumié de Prouvènço'' in Mistralian norms) 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

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and ...

department,

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...

, Southern France. Located in the northern part of the

Alpilles The Chaîne des Alpilles is a small range of low mountains in Provence, southern France, located about south of Avignon. Geography The range is an extension of the much larger Luberon range. Although it is not high - some 498 m (1,634 ...

, of which it is the main town, it had a population of 9,893 in 2017.

History

The town, which has been inhabited since

Prehistory Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...

, was named after

Saint Remigius Remigius (french: Remi or ; – January 13, 533), was the Bishop of Reims and "Apostle of the Franks". On 25 December 496, he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks. The baptism, leading to about 3000 additional converts, was an important event ...

under the

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 ...

name ''Villa Sancti Remigii''. From May 1889 to May 1890,

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

was a patient at the

Saint-Paul Asylum Monastery of Saint-Paul de Mausole (french: monastère Saint-Paul-de-Mausole) is a former monastery in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Provence, France. Several rooms of the building have been converted into a museum to Vincent van Gogh, who stayed ther ...

in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, and painted some of his most memorable works, including

The Starry Night ''The Starry Night'' ( nl, De sterrennacht) is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. Painted in June 1889, it depicts the view from the east-facing window of his asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Prove ...

, which features the town.

Geography

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is situated about south of Avignon, just north of the

mountain range.

Transportation

The Avignon-TGV high-speed train station is 20 km from the city. The closest airports are located in Avignon, Nîmes, and Marseille. Also, there are several highways and main roads which serve Saint-Remy. The A7 autoroute, which runs down the Rhone valley and connects Lyon to Marseille via Orange is about east of Saint Remy. The A54 autoroute runs from Nîmes to Salon-de-Provence, and passes through Arles, away. Finally, the A9 is 20 km to the north-west and runs from Orange to Perpignan via Montpelier.

Climate

The climate in the Alpilles is considered Mediterranean. Winters there are gentle and dry, and summers are hot and dry. The highest average temperature is recorded in July and August , and the lowest in December and January . The rainiest month is January with an average of 7 rainy days, compared with July, the driest month, with an average of 2 rainy days. The Alpilles region receives more precipitation than the French Rivera, 1–2 cm more per year. There are about 30 days of frost per year. Snow is rare, but can be heavy when it does fall.

Population

Sights

The ruins of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

city of

Glanum Glanum (Hellenistic ''Γλανόν'', as well as Glano, Calum, Clano, Clanum, Glanu, Glano) was an ancient and wealthy city which still enjoys a magnificent setting below a gorge on the flanks of the Alpilles mountains. It is located about one kil ...

, including a

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cro ...

, can still be seen on the southern outskirts of the city. The

in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is where

was a patient, from May 1889 to May 1890, and where he painted some of his most memorable works, including

which features the town. The site is now named the Clinique Van Gogh for him.

Notable people

Pierre Daboval Pierre Daboval (3 July 1918 – 11 May 2015) was a French artist. Daboval studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, the Académie Julian and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, 'plucking here and there from the teachings, until I had enoug ...

(1918–2015), artist, lived for many years in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence *

Marie Gasquet Marie Gasquet (1872–1960) was a French regionist writer from Provence. Biography Early life Marie Gasquet was born in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône in 1872. Her father, Marius Girard, was a Provençal poet. Her godfather was Fr� ...

, a Provençale novelist and queen of the Felibrige *

Louis-Thomas Chabert de Joncaire Louis-Thomas Chabert de Joncaire (1670June 29, 1739), also known as Sononchiez by the Iroquois, was a French army officer and interpreter for New France who worked with the Iroquois tribes during the French and Indian Wars in the early 18th centu ...

, (1670–1739), French army officer and interpreter in New France *

Princess Caroline of Monaco Princess Caroline of Monaco (Caroline Louise Marguerite; born 23 January 1957) is, by her marriage to Prince Ernst August, the Princess of Hanover. As the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, she is the elder siste ...

and her children lived in Saint-Rémy for several years following the death of her second husband, Stefano Casiraghi * Pablo Daniel Magee, writer, journalist and playwright grew up in Saint-Rémy de Provence *

Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed seer, who is best known for his book '' Les Prophéties'' (published in 1555), a collection ...

, a 16th-century author of

prophecies In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or prete ...

References

External links

Saint Rémy de Provence Tourist office website

Official site
(in French)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saintremydeprovence Communes of Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia