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Barbentane (French pronunciation: [baʁbɑ̃tan]; Occitan: Barbentana) is a commune of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southern France.

Barbentane
Commune
The old Town Hall
Location of Barbentane
Barbentane
Barbentane
Coordinates: 43°54′01″N 4°44′55″E
CountryFrance
RegionProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
DepartmentBouches-du-Rhône
ArrondissementArles
CantonChâteaurenard
IntercommunalityTerre de Provence
Government
  Mayor (20202026) Jean-Christophe Daudet[1]
Area
1
27.13 km2 (10.47 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2019)[2]
4,192
  Density150/km2 (400/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
13010 /13570
Elevation12–167 m (39–548 ft)
(avg. 51 m or 167 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Barbentanais or Barbentanaises in French.[3]


Geography


Barbentane is located at the northernmost point of the Bouches-du-Rhône department immediately south-west of Avignon near a rocky plateau and stretching a few kilometres across a flat low area and low hills where the urban area is located. The northern border of the commune is the departmental border between Bouches-du-Rhône and Vaucluse while the western border is the departmental border with Gard.

Access to the commune is by the D35 road from Rognonas in the east, which passes through the commune and the town and continues west, then south-west, to Boulbon. The D570N from Graveson in the south-east passes along the eastern border of the commune then goes east to Rognonas. The D34 goes east from the town to join the D570N. The D77D goes south-east from the town and also joins the D5470N. The D35E goes south from the village to join the D81 in the south. The main railway line from Avignon to the south passes through the east of the commune with the Barbentane-Rognonas Station east of the town. Apart from the town there are also the districts of La Chinquine, Carrière, Le Grand Roumette, Cambageon, Fontgisclar, La Bruyère, Bragalance, and Mas de Basette. The slopes in the south of the commune are forested while the rest of the commune is mostly farmland, with an urban area containing a significantly sized town at the base of the slopes.[4]


Hydrography


The confluence of the Durance and the Rhone
The confluence of the Durance and the Rhone

The north-western tip of the commune is the confluence of the Durance river, which forms the northern border of the commune, and the Rhône river, which forms the western border. The Canal des Alpines comes from the east and passes through the commune to continue south-west, parallel to the Rhône.[4]


Geology


From a geological point of view there are two components of the commune's surface area:

This Montagnette hilly area has an area of about 6000 hectares, of which 2/3 are covered with Aleppo pines. About a quarter of the area is in the commune of Barbentane but the highest point, at 167m, is in the commune of Boulbon at Mount Raous, about 800m west of Frigolet Abbey.


Toponymy


The first written evidence of Barbentane dates from the 9th century. Despite its late appearance this ancient name probably indicates a water source at the foot of a rocky rise: in Ligurian the syllable ar refers to water and tan to a cliff; and the prefixes barva or borvo are widespread throughout Europe. The etymology of Barbentane would be closer to spa towns such as La Bourboule, Barbotan-les-Thermes, etc.

Until the end of the 19th century the spelling was Barbantane with an "a" but the name is now consistently always spelled with an e instead, as Barbentane.

Barbentane is called Barbentana according to the classical norm of Occitan and Barbentano according to the Mistralian norm.


History



Prehistory and Antiquity


Originally there were three separate occupied sites on the territory. The oldest is Fretta which disappeared in the 6th century but whose name has survived in the form of Frigolet. The other two sites of Bellinto and Barbentane are much better-known.

In 1957 excavations near the site of Fretta, a Chasséen human bone was discovered in a burial pit (right parietal bone from the 5th millennium BC) amongst various flints and animal bones (near Carrière district).

The Ligurians were the oldest people in the area who retained their name. Over time they associated with the Celts which resulted in the Celto-Ligurians. The name Bellinto came from these Celto-Ligurians (Bel meaning "ferry" and linto meaning "flat-bottomed boat") for the place where a ferry was permitted to cross the Durance.

The name Bellinto was written for the first time in 333 on the road from Bordeaux to Jerusalem. Well before that date, however, Bellinto already existed and it is likely that the most illustrious of its occupants during this period was Gaius Marius. This Roman general established his camp in the Montagnette before going to crush the Cimbri and the Teutons on the plain of Pourrières (near Aix-en-Provence) in 102 BC.

This came at the time of the Pax Romana which lasted for four centuries and of which many vestiges remain (sarcophagi and foundations in the upper village, etc.)


Middle Ages


Drawing and description of the Tour Angelica (Anglica Tower), built in the 14th century at Barbentane by order of Cardinal Angel de Grimoard brother of Urban V in the Departmental Archives of Vaucluse
Drawing and description of the Tour Angelica (Anglica Tower), built in the 14th century at Barbentane by order of Cardinal Angel de Grimoard brother of Urban V in the Departmental Archives of Vaucluse
The Tour Barbentane
The Tour Barbentane

A time of peace was followed the successive invasions of the Alemanni, the Vandals, the Visigoths, the Burgundians, the Ostrogoths, the Franks, the Lombards, the Normans, and the Saracens.

The first known mention of a lord, in 1133, concerned Guillaume de Barbentane whose direct descendants until Marquis Henry de Puget de Cabassole du Réal de Barbentane were always from Barbentane. Guillaume lived in the Maison des Chevaliers (Knight's House), completed in 1178. As a borderland, Barbentane was alternately a fief of the Kingdom of France and of the Holy Roman Empire. It also benefited as a place of passage: a ferry crossing of the Durance is attested in 1178.[5] The ferry merged with that of Rognonas around 1450.[5]

The Papacy settled in Avignon in the 14th century and helped to clarify the situation. As well as all the benefits gained from the situation, including relief from or outright exemption from charges and taxes, the commune benefited from architectural attention and embellishments to the village. Enhanced fortifications and expansion of the church date from the same era as the Maison des Chevaliers and the construction of the Tour Anglica (Angelica Tower) in 1364-1365. This tower was named after Bishop Anglic de Grimoard, the brother of Pope Urban V and built for the modest sum of 4,000 florins.


French Revolution


During the French Revolution the priest of Barbentane, who was a Juror, was thrown bound and gagged into the Durance during the First White Terror of 1795.

Strong republican or monarchist/conservative family political traditions date from the Revolution. It is only since the end of the colonial wars that the people of Barbentane could express themselves politically as individuals without being banned from their families.


Heraldry


Old Arms of Barbentane
Old Arms of Barbentane
Old Arms of Barbentane

Blazon:
Gules, a tower Argent masoned in Sable.



Arms of Barbentane
Arms of Barbentane
Arms of Barbentane today. These arms date back to the first half of the 16th century. The F is the initial of King François I and the salamander was his personal emblem.

Blazon:
Parti per pale, first Gules, a tower Argent masoned in Sable; second Azure a salamander crowned enflamed of Or in pale grimpant a letter F turned to dexter.




Administration


The Town Hall
The Town Hall

List of Successive Mayors[6]

FromToName
2001March 2018Jean-Louis Ichartel
March 20182026Jean-Christophe Daudet

Twinning


Barbentane has twinning associations with Saillon (Switzerland) since 1994.


Population


Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 2,795    
1975 2,864+0.35%
1982 3,201+1.60%
1990 3,273+0.28%
1999 3,645+1.20%
2007 3,757+0.38%
2012 3,877+0.63%
2017 4,143+1.34%
Source: INSEE[7]
Oratory in Barbentane
Oratory in Barbentane

Economy


The native Aubergine (Eggplant)
The native Aubergine (Eggplant)

The two major economic activities in Barbentane have always been from the beginning, agriculture and stone quarries.

Its large alluvial plain allows intensive, high quality agriculture, in historical times based mainly on autarkical crops—wheat, beans, etc. Then came a time when Dyer's Madder was cultivated - its first real industrial cultivation. Harvesting this plant required 1000 locals and 600 immigrant workers. This period of cultivation was short-lived—the market collapsed after a few years when chemical dyes appeared. However, the construction of the main Paris–Marseille railway via Lyon (the PLM) in the 1840s led to the replacement in local agricultures of madders by other fruit and vegetables. The land had already been leveled and irrigated; it remained only to plant cypress trees to protect the crops from the mistral to begin cultivation of these new crops. The Mediterranean sunshine combined with the presence of a very shallow and abundant water table and irrigation with water from the Canal des Alpines gave varied fruit (apples, pears, peaches, etc.) and vegetable (beans, eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, etc.) crops. The Barbentane Railway Station was the junction with the railway line from Plan-d'Orgon (Bouches-du-Rhône) and for a long time was the largest railway station in France for fruit and vegetables. Farmers practiced a triennial crop rotation and continued their activities in winter with the harvest of olives and almonds in the Montagnette, and culture of salad plants (e.g. lettuce), cabbages, and spinach on the plain.

A variety of eggplant is called a "long purple eggplant of Barbentane". A variety of rustic and succulent figs is called "black of Barbentane". There is also a red cherry coloured rose which is named "Countess of Barbentane".

The rocky outcrop where the village is perched has been quarried for a long time. Barbentane stone was used in the construction of the village and the architectural elements of Avignon and surrounding villages.

The large void left by the quarrying within the village itself, were used by the inhabitants for Underground living and two districts remain fully inhabited today.

These two main economic activities are major users of manpower and this has led to strong immigration from Italy and Spain since ancient times and this lasted until the 1960s. Since then immigration has been mostly from the Maghreb.

Today the stone quarries have completely disappeared and agriculture has lost its primacy as the main activity of the village. Provençal culture remains very much alive.

As elsewhere it was common practice to give nicknames (place of residence, skill, notable actions, etc.) to differentiate between people who often had the same last name. The Barbentanais were nicknamed Li Broument, a Provençal word meaning "many" and used only in Barbentane.

Barbentane has its culinary specialty, "Les Tirettes" which are made from a special pâte and eaten at Sunday lunch and on holidays.


Culture and heritage


The Maison des Chevaliers
The Maison des Chevaliers
Cardinal Grimaldi Tower
Cardinal Grimaldi Tower

Civil heritage


The commune has a number of buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments:

The Chteau of Barbentane
The Chteau of Barbentane
The Town Hall
The Town Hall

The old village

A Town Gate
A Town Gate
A Cave Dwelling
A Cave Dwelling

The Fortifications

The Calendrale Gate
The Calendrale Gate
The Séquier Gate
The Séquier Gate

Other sites of interest


Religious heritage


The Church of Notre-Dame-des-Grâces
The Church of Notre-Dame-des-Grâces

The Church of Notre-Dame-des-Grâces is registered as an historical monument.[22] The Church and bell tower are probably located on the site of an older building (possibly a Roman temple or chapel). The church was originally a semi-circular Romanesque church from the 12th century under the first two spans. It was extended the first time by Cardinal Grimoard, brother of Pope Urban V, in the 14th century by the addition of two Gothic bays and an apse in 1324. Several chapels have been added to it:

The bell tower was erected over the Chapel of Sainte-Croix between 1486 and 1492. It is 21 metres high and was topped by a spire of 7 metres which was destroyed by cannonballs during the French Revolution in 1794. All the bells except one were shipped to Marseille to "make weapons against the enemies of the nation". The spire was rebuilt in 1983.

The Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects:


Films in Barbentane


The village has appeared in several scenes in the film by Les Charlots called Stadium Nuts released in 1972.


Cultural distinctions


Barbentane is one of the communes to receive the Esperanto Green Star, an award given to mayors of communes who identify the speakers of the constructed language Esperanto.


See also



References



Notes


  1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. "Populations légales 2019". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2021.
  3. Inhabitants of Bouches-du-Rhône (in French)
  4. Google Maps
  5. Catherine Lonchambon, "From one side to the other on the Durance: strange boats", in Guy Barruol, Denis Furestier, Catherine Lonchambon, Cécile Miramont, The length and breadth of the Durance: ferries, barques, and rafts in the history of a meandering river, Les Alpes de lumière No. 149, Forcalquier, 2005, ISBN 2-906162-71-X, p. 54-55 (in French)
  6. List of Mayors of France (in French)
  7. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  8. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA13001223 Bullfight Arena (in French)
  9. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00081202 Maison des Chevaliers (in French)
  10. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00081203 Tour du Cardinal Grimaldi (in French)
  11. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00081200 Chateau of Barbentane (in French)
  12. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM13000453 2 Louis XVI Wing Chairs (in French)
  13. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM13000452 6 Louis XV Chairs (in French)
  14. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM13000451 2 Louis XV Sofas (in French)
  15. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM13000450 Louis XV Chest of Drawers (in French)
  16. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM13000449 Framed Painting: The Entombment (in French)
  17. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA13001033 Chateau Park (in French)
  18. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA13001132 Agricultural Cooperative (in French)
  19. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM13001969 2 Paintings (in French)
  20. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM13001968 PM13001967 Interior of the Mayor's Office(in French)
  21. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM13000456 Statue: Virgin and child (in French)
  22. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00081201 Church of Notre-Dame-des-Grâces (in French)
  23. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM13001975 Cross: Christ on the Cross (in French)
  24. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM13001974 Statue: Saint Mark (in French)
  25. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM13001973 Statue: Saint John the Baptist (in French)
  26. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM13001972 Choir enclosure: Communion grill (in French)
  27. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM13001971 Statue: Saint Roch (in French)
  28. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM13001970 Painting: Institution of the Rosary (in French)
  29. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM13000455 Painting: Saints Catherine and Roch (in French)
  30. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM13000454 Painting: The Holy Family (in French)

Bibliography





На других языках


[de] Barbentane

Barbentane ist eine Gemeinde mit 4192 Einwohnern (Stand 1. Januar 2019) im Süden Frankreichs im Département Bouches-du-Rhône (13) der Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.
- [en] Barbentane

[fr] Barbentane

Barbentane est une commune française, située dans le département des Bouches-du-Rhône en région Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.

[ru] Барбантан

Барбантан (фр. Barbentane) — коммуна на юго-востоке Франции в регионе Прованс — Альпы — Лазурный Берег, департамент Буш-дю-Рон, округ Арль, кантон Шаторенар[1].



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