Salon-de-Provence (, ; oc, label= Provençal Occitan, Selon de Provença/Seloun de Provènço, ), commonly known as Salon, is a commune located about northwest of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

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,

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

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 pre ...

, Southern France. It is the home of an important

French Air and Space Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Ar ...

(''Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace'') air base. In 2017, it had a population of 45,528.

History

Salon was a Gallo-Roman oppidum well positioned on the salt trade routes between

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the ...

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

seas, hence its name. This region was under the Phocaean influence since the sixth century BC, and stretches of the

Via Aurelia The ''Via Aurelia'' (Latin for "Aurelian Way") is a Roman road in Italy constructed in approximately 241 BC. The project was undertaken by Gaius Aurelius Cotta, who at that time was censor.Hornblower, Simon, & Antony Spawforth. ''The Oxford Cl ...

can still be recognized just outside the town, but the earliest mention of the place under its familiar name is of the ninth century, as ''Villa Salone''. The archbishops of Arles controlled the site. Its principal claim to fame today is as the place where Nostradamus spent his last years and is buried. His dwelling is maintained as a museum, and for four days every June or July, the city celebrates its history during the time of Nostradamus, attracting tourists. The historic center still lies within its circuit of walls, entered through two seventeenth-century gateways, the ''Porte de l'Horloge'' and the ''Port Bourg Neuf''. In 1559 the engineer

Adam de Craponne Adam de Craponne (; 1526–1576) was a French engineer. He built the eponymous Canal de Craponne to irrigate the ''Désert de la Crau''. He was poisoned while fortifying Nantes for King Henry III of France during the French Wars of Religion Ear ...

opened the ''

Canal de Craponne The Canal de Craponne, Craponne canal, is a canal in the Pélissanne commune of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France. It was originally conceived and built between 1554 and 1559 by the engineer Adam de Craponne to bring fresh water 25km from ...

'' to bring fresh water from the river Durance to the town and the surrounding plain of Crau. Inexpensive freight brought commerce to Salon, and the town prospered.

Sights

Château de l'Emperi

The castle, which was the biggest in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bo ...

during the 12th and 13th centuries and was mentioned as early as the tenth, still dominates the old town. It was the preferred residence of the bishops of

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 ...

, when Provence was part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

, hence its name. It became the property of the city after the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. After damage caused by the 1909 earthquake, it has been restored and now hosts a museum of military history. Every summer, it hosts an international classical music festival.

Fontaine Moussue

The fountain in Place Crousillat has existed since the 16th century. During the 20th century, limestone concretions and vegetation developed, giving the familiar mushroom aspect.

St Michel Chapel

Built during the 13th century, this chapel boasts a remarkable Romanesque tympanum featuring the paschal lamb.

Collégiale Saint Laurent

The current edifice was erected during 15th century by Cardinal Louis Aleman, who was then bishop of Arles.

Salon-de-Provence Air Base

Salon-de-Provence Air Base is the site of the French Air Force Academy, as well as the home of the French Aerial Demonstration team, the Patrouille de France.

Market

Every Wednesday the Place Morgan is host to a Provençal market.

Culture

Each summer, the

Château de l'Empéri The Château de l'Empéri is a 9th-century castle built on the rock of Puech which dominates the immense plain of Crau in the ''commune'' of Salon-de-Provence in the Bouches-du-Rhône ''département'' of France. It is listed as a '' monument hi ...

hosts a festival of

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small nu ...

. Some years the Château is the venue for ''Nostradamiques'' – an historical re-enactment of the time of Nostradamus which includes processions and a transformation of the old medieval downtown. One such re-enactment was performed by the television presenter Jean-Pierre Foucault. In 2006

Robert Hossein Robert Hossein (30 December 1927 – 31 December 2020) was a French film actor, director, and writer. He directed the 1982 adaptation of ''Les Misérables'' and appeared in '' Vice and Virtue'', '' Le Casse'', ''Les Uns et les Autres'' and ''V ...

compered the closing ceremony of the re-enactment.

Personalities

* Abba Mari ben Eligdor (fl.1335), distinguished Talmudist, philosopher, resident 14th Century * Nostradamus (1503–1566), resident 1547–66, place of death * Miquèu Tronc (16th century),

Occitan language Occitan (; oc, occitan, link=no ), also known as ''lenga d'òc'' (; french: langue d'oc) by its native speakers, and sometimes also referred to as ''Provençal'', is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Valle ...

writer * Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet (1720–1778), French botanist and explorer, birthplace * Joan Montseny (1864-1942), Catalan anarchist, place of death * Charles Trenet (1913-2001), French singer, resident for military reasons, 1939–1940 * Romain Gary (1914–1980), French novelist and pilot, learnt to fly with military in Salon-de-Provence before Nazi occupation of France * Patrick Baudry (1946-), and Léopold Eyharts (1957-), French

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

s, military training * Daniel Goossens (1954-), Cartoonist, birthplace * Christine Boisson (1956-), French actor, birthplace *

Franck Esposito Franck Esposito (born 13 April 1971 in Salon-de-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône) is a former World Record holding, and four-time Olympic, butterfly swimmer from France. He swam for France at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics; and won the bronze meda ...

(1971-), French swimmer, birthplace * Michaël N'dri (1984-), footballer, birthplace and early Football career *

Simon Porte Jacquemus Simon Porte Jacquemus (born 16 January 1990) is a French fashion designer and the founder of the Jacquemus fashion label. Early life Jacquemus was born in Salon-de-Provence, France into a relatively poor family of farmers; his father occasional ...

(1990-), Fashion Designer

Twin towns – sister cities

Salon-de-Provence is twinned with: * Blanzy-la-Salonnaise, France *

Aranda de Duero Aranda de Duero is a city and municipality, capital of the Ribera del Duero comarca, in the south of the province of Burgos, in Castile and León, Spain. It has a population of roughly 33,000 people and lies on the River Duero. The closest i ...

, Spain *

Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and '' comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines. History The city's origins are very ancient. ...

, Italy *

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cr ...

, England, United Kingdom * Godmanchester, England, United Kingdom *

Szentendre Szentendre () is a riverside town in Pest County, Hungary, between the capital city Budapest and Pilis- Visegrád Mountains. The town is known for its museums (most notably the Open-Air Ethnographic Museum), galleries, and artists. Due to its ...

, Hungary * Wertheim am Main, Germany

Gallery

Image:Emperi.jpg,

courtyard Image:Fontaine Moussue.jpg, Fontaine Moussue by night Image:StMichel.jpg, St Michel, inside Image:Tympanum, Eglise St-Michel, Salon-de-Provence.JPG, Tympanum, Eglise St-Michel Image:Salon Saint Laurent.jpg, Collégiale Saint Laurent, after 2008/2009 restorations Image:Jardin de la République, Salon-de-Provence.JPG, Jardin de la République Image:Sausages,_Wednesday_market,__Salon-de-Provence.JPG, Sausages, market at Place Morgan Image:Mushrooms,_Wednesday_market,__Salon-de-Provence.JPG, Mushrooms, market at Place Morgan Image:Paella,_Wednesday_market,__Salon-de-Provence.JPG, Paella, market at Place Morgan