The winds of Provence, the region of southeast

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 ...

along the

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 the e ...

from the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

to the mouth of the Rhone River, are an important feature of Provençal life, and each one has a traditional local name, in the

Provençal language 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 ...

. The most famous Provençal winds are: * the

Mistral Mistral may refer to: * Mistral (wind) in southern France and Sardinia Automobiles * Maserati Mistral, a Maserati grand tourer produced from 1963 until 1970 * Nissan Mistral, or Terrano II, a Nissan 4×4 produced from 1993 until 2006 * Microp ...

, a cold dry north or northwest wind, which blows down through the Rhone Valley to the Mediterranean, and can reach speeds of ninety kilometers an hour. * the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

, a very humid east wind, which brings moisture from the eastern Mediterranean. * the

Tramontane Tramontane ( ) ; french: tramontane ; el, τραμουντάνα, tramountána, ; it, tramontana ; la, trānsmontānus ; mt, tramuntana ; sl, tramontana ; sh, tramontana ; es, link=no, tramontana . is a classical name for a northern wind ...

, a strong, cold and dry north wind, similar to the Mistral, which blows from the

Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...

mountains toward the Mediterranean to the west of the Rhone. * the

Marin Marin (French) or Marín (Spanish "sailor") may refer to: People * Marin (name), including a list of persons with the given name or surname * MaRin, in-game name of professional South Korean ''League of Legends'' player Jang Gyeong-hwan (born 19 ...

, a strong, wet and cloudy south wind, which blows in from the

Gulf of Lion The Gulf of Lion or Gulf of Lions ( French: ''golfe du Lion'', Spanish: ''golfo de León'', Italian: ''Golfo del Leone'', Occitan: ''golf del/dau Leon'', Catalan: ''golf del Lleó'', Medieval Latin: ''sinus Leonis'', ''mare Leonis'', Classical L ...

. * the

Sirocco Sirocco ( ), scirocco, or, rarely, siroc (see below) is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season. Names ''Sirocco'' derives from ...

, a southeast wind coming from the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

desert in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, can reach hurricane force, and brings either reddish dust or heavy rains. The Provençal names for the winds are very similar to the names in the closely related

Catalan language Catalan (; autonym: , ), known in the Valencian Community and Carche as ''Valencian'' (autonym: ), is a Western Romance language. It is the official language of Andorra, and an official language of three autonomous communities in eastern Spa ...

: * Tramontana (Pr.) = Tramuntana (Catalan) * Levant (Pr.) = Llevant (Catalan) * Mistral (Pr.) = Mestral (Catalan)

Winds in Provençal culture

* The winds of

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 bor ...

, particularly the Mistral, have long had an influence on the architecture of Provence. The mas traditionally faces southeast, with its back to the Mistral,Massot, Jean-Luc, ''Maisons rurales et vie paysanne en Provence''. and many Provençal churches have open iron grill bell towers, which allow the Mistral wind to pass through. * The traditional Provençal Christmas creche often features one '' santon'', or Provençal character, holding his hat and wearing a cape billowing from the Mistral. * The Mistral also features in

Provençal literature Occitan literature (referred to in older texts as Provençal literature) is a body of texts written in Occitan, mostly in the south of France. It was the first literature in a Romance language and inspired the rise of vernacular literature throu ...

, and in the more recent novels of

Marcel Pagnol Marcel Paul Pagnol (; 28 February 1895 – 18 April 1974) was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Regarded as an auteur, in 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the Académie française. Although his work is less fashionable ...

Names of the Winds of Provence (by points of the compass)

Traditional compass roses in Provence (see illustration, which shows Midi, or the South, at the top) have the names of the winds by the points of the compass. Provence Winds Compass Rose

(North wind) * Vent droit * Montagnére * Brise Noire *

Gregale The Gregale ( ca, Gregal, it, Grecale, , mt, Grigal, , el, Γραίγος, ''Graigos'') is a Mediterranean wind that can occur during times when a low-pressure area moves through the area to the south of Malta and causes a strong, cool, northea ...

(Northeast wind) * Lombarde *Levant-Grégale * Auro-Bruno *

(East wind) * Auro-rosso * Vent blanc *

Leveche The libeccio (; Leveche ; sh, lebić ; ca, llebeig ; mt, Lbiċ; el, λίβας ; oc, labech ) ; el, γαρμπής, links=no ; it, garbino ; sh, garbin, links=no ; es, garbino, ; oc, garbin ). is the westerly or south-westerly wind wh ...

* Autan (Southeast wind) *

* Simoun * Embat *

(South wind) * Vent de bas * Chili * Vent du Large * Labech (Southwest wind) *

Libeccio The libeccio (; Leveche ; sh, lebić ; ca, llebeig ; mt, Lbiċ; el, λίβας ; oc, labech ) ; el, γαρμπής, links=no ; it, garbino ; sh, garbin, links=no ; es, garbino, ; oc, garbin ). is the westerly or south-westerly wind wh ...

* Garbi * Cierco *

Ponent Ponent, Lleida or Terres de Lleida is one of the seven territories defined by the Regional Plan of Catalonia. It is not clear what name will have, being all of them traditionally accepted names for the region. It is located in the westernmost par ...

(West wind) * Traverse *

Maestro Maestro (; from the Italian ''wikt:maestro#Italian, maestro'' , meaning "wikt:master, master" or "teacher") is an honorific title of respect (plural: maestros or maestri). The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music ...

* Galerne *

(Northwest wind) * Traverse-haute * Brise * Auro-Drecho

References

Bibliography

Jean Vialar, Les vents régionaux et locaux, 1948, réédité par Météo-France en 2003

External links

Local Mediterranean winds
{{in lang, ca Winds Provence