Trets (; ; Provençal: ''Tretz'') is a ''commune'' (town or township, in English) 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 of the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur region in the southeast of

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 ...

. With a population of over 10,000, it is one of 44 ''communes'' in the

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille ...

''arrondissement'' or district. It is often described as a medieval town because of its development during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

of European history and retention of medieval architecture.

Geography

Trets is situated in the Upper Valley of the Arc river, between painter Paul Cézanne's beloved Montagne Sainte-Victoire 11 km to the north and the Aurélien hills (Monts Auréliens) to the east, at the foot of Mount Olympus to the south.

Population and history

Archeological evidence suggests that the first inhabitants of the area, of

Chasséen culture __NOTOC__ Chasséen culture is the name given to the archaeological culture of prehistoric France of the late Neolithic, which dates to roughly between 4500 BC and 3500 BC. The name "Chasséen" derives from the type site near Chassey-le-Camp ( S ...

, lived on the summit of Mount Olympus around 4000 BC, during the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

period. The founding site of Trets has been described variously as a Greek colony or an “ancient Roman settlement.” By some accounts Trets was originally named Trittia or Tritea by the Phocean settlers of

Massalia Massalia ( Greek: Μασσαλία; Latin: Massilia; modern Marseille) was an ancient Greek colony founded ca. 600 BC on the Mediterranean coast of present-day France, east of the river Rhône, by Ionian Greek settlers from Phocaea, in Wester ...

, in homage to the daughter of the Greek god

Triton Triton commonly refers to: * Triton (mythology), a Greek god * Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune Triton may also refer to: Biology * Triton cockatoo, a parrot * Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails * ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus'' ...

. In the later years of the Roman conquest of Provence,

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

defeated the

Teutons The Teutons ( la, Teutones, , grc, Τεύτονες) were an ancient northern European tribe mentioned by Roman authors. The Teutons are best known for their participation, together with the Cimbri and other groups, in the Cimbrian War with th ...

and

Ambrones The Ambrones ( grc, Ἄμβρωνες) were an ancient tribe mentioned by Roman authors. They are generally believed to have been a Germanic tribe from Jutland. In the late 2nd century BC, along with the fellow Cimbri and Teutons, the Ambrone ...

“at a spot between Saint-Maximin and Trets.” The first historical account identifying the populace now known as Trets appears in 950 AD, when the king of Burgundy and Provence Conrad the Peaceful transferred hereditary rule over the lands of the Upper Valley of the Arc as a

fisc Under the Merovingians and Carolingians, the fisc (from Latin ''fiscus,'' whence we derive "fiscal") applied to the royal demesne which paid taxes, entirely in kind, from which the royal household was meant to be supported, though it rarely was. ...

to the first Seigneur (or Lord) of Trets. A succession of lords ruled until 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 ...

of 1789.

Architecture

Romanesque, and

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

buildings and vaulted passageways of the medieval period line the narrow, winding streets of the town. The center of Trets was surrounded the ramparts and its 8 towers (4 left), for defense against successive invasions over the centuries. A 2200 sqm garden along the town walls (''Jardins des Remparts'') was opened in 2011. Several gates (''porte'') were opened in the city walls. The rectangular Gate of Pourrières and its preserved machicolations were built in the 14th century. It served as the main gateway access into town. On the East side of city, the Gate Saint-Jean also known as the Gate of Amont (14th) provides uptown access and was used to store munitions. On the North end stood the Gate of Clastre (14th), the Porte Neuve and the Gate of Puyloubier, all destroyed by the mid-19th century. Now the grounds of the Edmond Brun elementary school, a hospital named Hôpital Saint Jacques was established circa 1300 near the church of the same patronage and later transferred, in 1794, to the Observantins convent. The low, vaulted passageway called Le Trou de Madame Lion gave access to the wall-walk. It is thought to have been either a way of confining any epidemic outbreak to the grounds of the hospital or a way of defending against mounted attacks. To the southeast is the feudal castle (''Château des Remparts'') with its staircase in dimension stone with a ramp from the 17th century, French-style painted ceilings and a baroque chimney. Its construction started in the late 12th or the early 13th century. In June 2013 a number of renovations were completed, with a modern performance space in the courtyard. The

classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper * The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...

14th-century Church of Our Lady of Nazareth was built upon a 4th-century priory of the Roman-Provençal style with an open vaulted arch, gothic chapels, and a massive unfinished tower. Its massive altarpiece (1693) was executed by the native

Christophe Veyrier Christophe Veyrier (25 June 1637 – 10 June 1689) was a French sculptor, the nephew and follower of Pierre Puget. Veyrier was born in Trets, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. He arrived in Genoa in 1663 and stayed for a number of years, before moving ...

in stucco and marble. La Chapelle Saint-Jean-du-Puy, a former 5th-century hermitage, features a Romanesque apse, garden sanctuary and 18th-century watch tower that is an observatory overlooking the town and the Valley of the Arc. It was rebuilt with the addition of two Gallo-Roman columns. The 14th-century papal Studium of Trets put forth what may have been the only record of its kind in the Vatican archives of that time, a register of the local economy detailing the material life of schoolchildren and their teachers. The Hôtel de la Vallée de l’Arc, at the center of town, was an 18th-century relay post. Henri Raybaud executed the War memorial on the townhall square depicting an "angel of victory" .

Cultural encounters and traditions

The influence of both Greek and Roman cultures is said to have led to the cultivation of wine and wheat. After the Romans came the

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Euro ...

, the

Merovingians The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

, the Carlovingians and the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia ...

s; then, after a period of viscounts of Marseille, Trets came under local papal governance through the

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

Aix Aix or AIX may refer to: Computing * AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems *An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set * Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point Places Belgiu ...

, according to the papal bull of

Urban II Pope Urban II ( la, Urbanus II; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening th ...

in 1088. Holidays and festivals reflect historical encounters and traditions, including: * (May/June) La Fête de Saint Jean has been observed since 1793. * (July) La Fête de la Saint Eloi, patron saint of goldsmiths and blacksmiths since 659 AD, celebrates Provençal culture, language and arts. * (August) Les Médiévales de Trets celebrate the occasion of The Good King René welcoming his nephew

Louis XI of France Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...

, with period events and dress. While the Jews were expelled from France in 1182, local governance permitted construction of a

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...

in a manor on the present-day street called Rue Paul Bert. A surrounding Jewish quarter was established by local edict in the early 14th century. In 2000,

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

exchanges were established with Aghavnadzor,

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

Notable people

Raimbaud de Reillanne Raimbaud was an Italo-Norman chief who served under Philaretus Brachamius from 1073 to 1074. He arrived in the East at the head of 8,000 Norman mercenaries who took up service with Philaretus in 1073. They were headquartered at the castle of Af ...

, archbishop 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 ...

. * Raymond de Gaufredi, son of the lord Burgondion de Trets and Mabile d'Agoult, minister general of the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

from 1289 to 1295. * Bertrand Bezaudun, archbishop of

Genova Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of G ...

from 1349 to 1358. *

, born in Trets on 26 January 1637, died in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

on 10 June 1689 (sculptor), nephew and follower of

Pierre Puget Pierre Paul Puget (16 October 1620 – 2 December 1694) was a French Baroque painter, sculptor, architect and engineer. His sculpture expressed emotion, pathos and drama, setting it apart from the more classical and academic sculpture of the ...

. *

Jean-Jacques Clérion Jean-Jacques Clérion (16 April 1637 – 28 April 1714) was a French sculptor who worked mainly for King Louis XIV. Clérion was born in either Aix-en-Provence or Trets. For much of his career he worked on the Chateau de Versailles, including ...

, born in Trets on 16 April 1637, died in Paris on 28 August 1714 (sculptor for

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of ...

). *

Urbain Dubois __NOTOC__ Urbain François Dubois (26 May 1818 – 14 March 1901) was a French chef who is best known as the author of a series of recipe books that became classics of French Cuisine, and as the creator of Veal Orloff, a popular dish in Russian c ...

, born in Trets on 26 May 1818, died in Nice on 14 March 1901, chef to the

King of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

from 1860 to 1870. He published several recipe books and is credited with the invention of the

Veal Orloff Veal Prince Orloff, veal Prince Orlov, veal Orloff, or veal Orlov ( rus, телятина по-орловски, telyatina po-orlovski; french: veau Orloff or ''veau Orlov'') is a 19th-century dish of Russian cuisine, which purportedly was created ...

Geography

Population and history

Architecture

Cultural encounters and traditions

Notable people

See also