Villelaure (; oc, Vilalaura) 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
Vaucluse
Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 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 the
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 ...
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 and t ...
in southeastern
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 ...
.
History
The village takes its name from the Roman-era settlement of ''Villa Laura'' which was at the same location or nearby. Since Roman times, a nucleus of inhabitants lived near the present village. However, like all the southern Luberon, Villelaure and its region were completely ruined in the second half of the 14th century by the ravages of the
Hundred Years War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...
and the
Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
.
Villelaure is one of about forty localities, on both sides of the Luberon, in which at least 1,400 families from the alpine valleys of Piedmont and approximately 6,000 people came from the alpine dioceses of
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
and
Embrun between 1460 and 1560.
In 1512, Antoinette de la Terre, assisted by her husband Jean de Forbin, established Villelaure with 19 families from the neighboring villages and Piedmont.
See also
*
Côtes du Luberon AOC
Luberon (known as ''Côtes du Luberon'' until 2009) is a French wine-growing AOC in the southeastern extreme of the Rhône wine region of France, where the wines are produced in 36 communes of the Vaucluse département. The neighbouring appellati ...
*
Communes of the Vaucluse department
The following is a list of the 151 communes of the Vaucluse department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2022):[Luberon
The Luberon ( or ; Provençal: ''Leberon'' or ''Leberoun'' ) is a massif in central Provence in Southern France, part of the French Prealps. It has a maximum elevation of and an area of about . It is composed of three mountain ranges (from wes ...]
References
Communes of Vaucluse
Populated places established in 1512
{{Vaucluse-geo-stub