Contes (; ; ) is a
commune in the
Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...
department in the
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
of
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...
in south-eastern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
Its inhabitants are ''Contois''. Because the village sounds like the French word ''comte'', the aristocratic title count, it called itself ''Point Libre'' during the revolutionary period.
Famous sons of Contes are Henri Charpentier, a chef who studied under Escoffier, Camous and Ritz. He worked for some of the most famous restaurants in Paris and then emigrated to the United States where he would open restaurants in New York and Los Angeles. The other, Humbert Ricolfi was actually a classmate of Charpentier and went on to become Minister of Finance for the Republique. He financed the Maginot Line and is remembered as an upholder of the great ideals of the French Republique.
It was probably mentioned in an ancient inscription DEO EGOMONI CVNTINO VIC CVN P.
Geography
Contes is a commune in the Southeast of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. It is located on
Paillon
The Paillon ( Nissard Occitan: ''Palhon'') is a coastal river of the Alpes-Maritimes that flows into the Mediterranean Sea in Nice, near the old district. It is long. Its drainage basin is .[AMSL
Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level v ...]
(430–1580 ft).
The inhabitants live mainly in the village, but also in hamlets like Sclos, La Vernéa, La Pointe.
Population
Economy
Formerly a rural community, with olive, vineyard and cattle-based economy, it has converted in a secondary town with services activities and residential areas for people working in the far city of Nice. The town has an important
Lafarge plaster factory.
See also
*
Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department
The following is a list of the 163 communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department of France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories inclu ...
References
Communes of Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia
{{AlpesMaritimes-geo-stub