Page 22 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Provence & The Côte d'Azur

20  introducing provence

Islam, as well as by pagan gods. Religious
beliefs are so well mixed that it is often
difficult to separate them. Carnival and
Corpus Christi extend Easter, which has
more importance here than in many other
parts of Europe. Christmas, too, is an
elaborate affair. The rituals begin as early
as 4 December, St Barb’s day, with the
planting of grains of wheat, a pagan
symbol of renewal and rebirth.
Superstitions linger in the countryside.
An egg, salt, bread and matches, humble
A traditional bakery in Ville-sur-Auzon, in Vaucluse representations of elemental concepts, may
be given to a newborn baby, while carline
The home is run as it has been for thistles may be seen nailed to
generations. Provençal kitchens, at front doors for good luck.
the heart of family life, are famous.
Combining simplicity with bounty, Landscape and People
they mix the aroma of herbs with Provence has a typically
the generosity of wine. In the envi­ Mediterranean landscape: the
ous and admiring eyes of visitors, mountains drop down to the sea;
they are the epitome of taste. communities perch on crags or
cling to remote hillsides. It is little
Tradition and Customs A colourful fruit and wonder that traditions live on
Good taste is inbred. In rural vegetable market here. For centuries, too, it was a
communities, the familiarity of the weather, place for outlaws from France, who could
the seasons and the harvests are sources of assume new identities here and carry on
constant discussion. Gardens, full of fruit with their lives. Perhaps as a result, strangers
trees, vegetables and flowers, are a matter
of pride. Even city­dwellers know how the
best produce should be grown, and may
well have access to a country relation’s plot.
Market stalls are beautifully laid out and
carefully scrutinized and, no matter how
abundant the fruit, the vegetables or the
wine, they are all grist for debate.
There are still heated discussions fuelled
by the latest developments imposed by
the European Union, whose legislation,
farmers say, has in the past had a detri­
mental effect on productive Provençal
land, when for example ancient vineyards
were grubbed up and landowners’ wealth
sent into rapid decline.
The harvest cycle is close to the gods,
whose benificence can affect the crops as
surely as any EU bureaucrat. As Catholic as
the rest of France, the people of Provence
are also touched with a mystic sense that
has been influenced by Mithraism and Harvesting linden blossoms to make tilleul infusiontilleul infusiontilleul