Page 28 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Provence & The Côte d'Azur

26  INTRODUCING PROVENCE

Rural Architecture in Provence

Traditional architectural features are reminders of how
influential the weather is on living conditions in rural
Provence. Great efforts are made to ease the biting gusts of
the Mistral and the relentless heat of the summer sun. Thick
stone walls, small windows and reinforced doors are all
recognizable characteristics. Traditional farmhouses were
built entirely from wood, clay, stone and soil, all locally
found materials. Rows of hardy cypress trees were planted
to act as a windbreak on the north side; plane and lotus Bories (see p173) are drystone
trees provided shade to the south. huts built using techniques
dating back to 2,000 BC.
The Provençal Mas
Found across rural Provence, the mas is a low, squat
stone farmhouse. Protection and strength are vital to
its construction – walls are made of compact stone
blocks and the wooden doors and shutters are thick
and reinforced. Outbuildings often included a cellar,
stables, a bread oven and dovecote. Chimneys are
stone-built, low
and squat, and lie
close to the roof.
Dovecot
Canal roof tiling, or
tuiles romaines, is typical
of the south.

Roughly cut stone
bricks are used to
make the walls.
T T The roof is gently he roof is gently he roof The north wall is
The most exposed part of sloping and thatched rounded for protection
the roof is unthatched. with marsh reeds. against the Mistral.

The gardian’s cabin was the original dwelling
place of the bull herdsman or gardian of the
Camargue. It is a small, narrow structure, The windows Walls are made of
consisting of a dining room and bedroom, are small and compressed clay and
divided by a reed screen and furnished simply. reinforced. straw, known as cob.