Vérignon (; Verinhon in Classical

Provençal Provençal may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to 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 * Provenca ...

and Verignoun in

of the mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the

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 ...

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 ...

in southeastern

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 ...

Géography

The town is situated at the foot of the Great

Canjuers Canjuers is a calcareous plateau and a military camp in Provence located in southeastern France. It is the site of the largest military camp in Continental Europe. Geography Situated in the ''département'' of the Var in the Prealps of Castell ...

Plain, at the heart of a forest of

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

s. 15 square kilometres of the commune were requisitioned for the Canjuers military camp in 1970.

History

is supposed to be derived from the Latin Campus Julii (the field of Julius), preserving a folk-memory of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

's army passing across it during the

Gallic Wars The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, and Switzerland). Gauls, Gallic, Germanic peoples, Germanic, and Celtic Britons, Brittonic trib ...

. On a mountain range between Aups and Vérignon is an

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...

of the Verrucini. In the Roman era, the main road that linked up

Fréjus Fréjus (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, Var, Saint-Raphaël ...

to Riez passed through Vérignon, and four milestones have been discovered. The plain is also an important findspot for prehistoric fossils, with most of those found being conserved fossils in the

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

at Vérignon, not open to the public. According to Raoul Bérenguier, the

Blacas The House of Blacas is the name of two ancient French nobility, French noble houses which successively owned the Lordship of Aups with its castle in Provence (whose name is still spelled in the ancient form ''Aulps'' in their surname). Blacas d'A ...

seigneurs A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...

Aups Aups (; Provençal dialect, Provençal in the classical norm, ''Aup'' in the Mistralian norm, )However, after the preposition ''a ~ à'' 'to', the forms are ''as Aups ~ à-z-Aup'' and are pronounced is a Commune of France, commune in the Var ( ...

installed themselves in Vérignon around the year 1000 and constructed their castle on a rocky outcrop in the town. It had an encircling wall, rectangular living quarters in the north corner, a private chapel of the Assumption for the Blacas (with their family vault under its altar), and a

barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

round its south gate. However, this castle proved too constricted, uncomfortable and small, and was abandoned at the start of the 18th century, with the Blacas building a new, unfortified château, which remained in their hands until 1947. It is rectangular in plan, with two levels of overhanging elevations, an attic-storey, and corner towers. Two short wings project out from and frame the main building. The castle stands up in the middle of a magnificent park. Up to the nineteenth century, the town had 120 inhabitants.

Churches

The Chapel of Notre-Dame de Liesse, at 991 m above sea level, is an oratory found between Aups and Vérignon. A lady from the Blacas family came here to await the arrival of her son back from the Crusades and vowed to construct a chapel as soon as he should return safely. He did return, and it was built as a witness of the "liesse" of the family. At 1.066 km altitude on the same mountain range is the Chapel Saint Priest, built in 1098.

Population

Personalities

One scion of the Blacas d'Aulps family lived at Vérignon: *Pierre d'Aulps, first of the line. * Casimir Blacas d'Aulps (1771–1839), counsellor to Louis XVIII *Marie Thérèse Paule de Blacas d'Aulps (Vérignon 1864 - Aups 1959)

References