The South of France-East Half Part 55

[Headnote: PERTUIS.]

{38}{152} +PERTUIS+, pop. 5800. _Hotels:_ Reynaud; Thomas; both near each other.

Their omnibuses await pa.s.sengers at the station. Situated 2 m. from the Durance, at the junction of the branch line from Avignon, 48 m.

W., pa.s.sing Cavaillon, the station for Apt, and L'Isle, the station for Vaucluse (see pp. 64 and 66). The Ma.r.s.eilles ca.n.a.l from the Durance commences near Pertuis (p. 77). In the centre of Pertuis is the Tour d'Aigues, which was part of the old fortifications. From Pertuis the country becomes picturesque. 10 m. N. is the station of Mirabeau, pop. 800, with the castle in which Mirabeau spent his boyhood, and in which his father was born.

60 m. N. from Ma.r.s.eilles, and 130 m. S. from Gren.o.ble, is Manosque, pop. 6200 (see pp. 166 and 168). 4 m. N. from Manosque is Volx village and station, with beds of lignite. 69 m. N. from Ma.r.s.eilles is La Brillanne, pop. 400, on the Oraison. 3 m. N. from Brillanne is the station and village of Lurs, pop. 1000, on a hill overlooking the Durance. It contains the convent of Alaun, visited by pilgrims, and a Roman road called the Chemin-Seinet.

[Headnote: PEYRUIS.]

{77}{112} +PEYRUIS+, pop. 1000; _Inn:_ Latil; curiously situated on the Durance, at the base of cliffs of conglomerate more than 1000 ft. high, which by the action of water have been cut up into tall pinnacles.

{80}{109} +ST. AUBAN+, pop. 250, junction with line to Digne. (For Digne, see p. 166, and maps pp. 162 and 304.)

+Digne to Barcelonnette by La Javie, Seyne, Le Lauzet, and Thuiles+, 53 m. E., by coach; time, 11 hrs.; fare, 10 frs. 9 m. from Digne is La Javie, famous for plums; pop. 500; H. de France, at the junction of the Bleonne with the Arigeol. 2 m. beyond is Beaujeu, pop. 400, on the Combefere, whence a narrow valley leads to the Col de Labouret, 3990 ft. Thence descend to Le Vernet, pop. 300, on the Besse, with beds of gypsum, 19 m. from Digne and 33 from Barcelonnette. Near Le Vernet is commenced the ascent of the Col de Maure, 4708 ft.; from which descend to Seyne-les-Alpes, pop. 2800, on the flanks of a mountain, and half-way between Digne and Barcelonnette. It contains a church of the 11th and 12th cents. 18 m. from Barcelonnette, and 5 from Le Lauzet, is St. Vincent, pop. 600, situated on a gra.s.sy eminence overlooking the Ubaye. From Le Lauzet to Barcelonnette, see Gap to Barcelonnette, p. 341.

[Headnote: COLMARS.]

+Digne to Barcelonnette by Draix, St. Thomas, Colmars, and Allos+, 55 m. N.E. 10 m. from Digne and 4 from La Javie is Draix, pop. 200, on a confluent of the Bleonne. 21 m. beyond is Colmars, pop. 1100, at the foot of Mts. Meunier and Draye, on the Sence at its junction with the Verdon. Excellent cheese, called Thorame. Cloth and saw mills.

5 m. beyond is Allos, pop. 1400, with a small inn, 18 m. from Barcelonnette. A short way from Allos by the hamlet Champ Richard, in one of the wildest and most sequestered valleys of the Alps, is Lake Allos, 7346 ft. above the sea, 4 m. in circ.u.mference, 140 ft. deep, containing capital trout, and surrounded by cliffs in some places 590 ft. high, over which tower bleak mountains, of which the most lofty is Mt. Pela, 8600 ft. The lake discharges its surplus water through a subterranean ca.n.a.l 1640 ft. long, whence it issues under the name of the torrent Chadoulin. From the village of Allos proceed to Barcelonnette by La Foux, pop. 150, with an interesting church, and Mourjouan, both on the Verdon, a tributary of the Ubaye. (For Barcelonnette, see p. 341. For Cannes and Gra.s.se to Digne, see p. 165.)

[Headnote: SISTERON.]

miles from Ma.r.s.eILLES miles to GREn.o.bLE

{91}{99} +SISTERON+, pop. 5000. Good resting-place. _Hotels:_ Va.s.sail; Negre; their omnibuses await pa.s.sengers at station.

Picturesquely situated, 1575 ft. above the sea, on both sides of the Durance at its confluence with the Buech. At the railway end of the town are the church of Notre Dame, 11th cent., and three towers, part of the fortifications built by the Counts of Provence. Notre Dame has been very much altered externally by restoration and repairs. The effect of the graceful octagonal tower has been destroyed by the square tower adjoining. In the interior the arches are early pointed, inclining to the stilted form. The three apsidal terminations are semicircular. The small window at the end of each is closed. The end of the town farthest from the railway is picturesque. From the gateway rise perpendicular cliffs of blue limestone, on the top of which is a fortress of the third cla.s.s. Immediately opposite, on the other side of the Durance, are similar strata heaved up and twisted into an enormous pyramid. A little beyond the gateway, a good road leads up by the cemetery to a place where there is a good view of the valleys of the Durance and the Buech. 7 m. N. from Sisteron is +Mison+ station, 2002 ft. above the sea, on the border of the Hautes-Alpes. 5 m.

farther, Laragne station, 1883 ft. 34 m. N. from Laragne is Eyguians-Orpier station, 1979 ft.

[Headnote: SERRES.]

{112}{77} +SERRES+, pop. 1200; _Inns:_ *Alpes; Voyageurs; Commerce; consisting of dirty, steep, narrow streets, on the sloping side of a calcareous cliff rising from between the Buech and the Bleme. Diligence to Nyons, 41 m.

E., p. 51. 8 m. N. from Serres is Chabestan, 2411 ft.

[Headnote: VEYNES.]

{121}{68} +VEYNES+, 2614 ft. above the sea, pop. 1800. _Inns:_ At station, H. and Rest, de la Gare; in town, H. Dousselin.

Junction with rail to +Mont Dauphin-Guillestre+, 51 m. N.E. This branch line extends to the pa.s.ses leading to the roads which traverse the valleys of the Waldenses.

[Headnote: GAP.]

On this branch line, 16 m. E. from Veynes and 34 m. S.W. from Mont Dauphin, is Gap, on the Luye, 2895 ft. above the sea, pop. 9300.

_Inns:_ Poste; Nord; Provence; France. This, the ancient Civitas Vappium, has a large Champ de Mars, extensive barracks, long avenues of walnut trees, and a handsome modern cathedral, built on the site of one of the 11th cent. In the Prefecture is the mausoleum of the Connetable Lesdiguieres, originally one of the leaders of the Protestants. In the hamlet of Tareau, close to Gap, Guillaume Farel, a celebrated French reformer, was born in 1489. He died on the 13th Sept. 1565. The most remarkable features of his character were dauntlessness and untiring energy and zeal. He possessed a sonorous and tuneful voice, fluency of language, and pa.s.sionate earnestness; yet, although seldom failing to arrest the attention of large audiences, he often, by imprudent torrents of denunciation, aroused against his doctrines unnecessary opposition.

[Headnote: LE LAUZET.]

+Gap to Barcelonnette+, coach daily; distance, 42 m.; fare, 8 frs.; time, 8 to 9 hrs. The road follows the Luye to its confluence with the Durance, 5 m. S. from Gap. From this point it ascends by the N. side of the Durance, pa.s.sing the pretty village of Remollons, 10 m. from Gap. 3 m. farther is the roadside station of Espina.s.se, where the horses are changed. 300 yds. above the confluence of the Ubaye with the Durance the road crosses the Durance by the bridge of Saulze, and ascends by the right side of the Ubaye to the village of Ubaye, 23 m.

from Gap, producing large quant.i.ties of walnuts, of which oil is made.

The apples of this neighbourhood were once famous. From almost every part of the road between Espina.s.se and Ubaye are seen the picturesque fort and extensive forest of St. Vincent. 28 m. from Gap is Le Lauzet, pop. 1000, _Inn:_ France, surrounded by great mountains, with narrow gorges and lofty waterfalls. In the neighbourhood is a lake abounding with trout. 3 m. higher up is the hamlet of Martinet, at the entrance to the beautiful valley of the Laverq, extending to the S.

side of Mt. Siolane, on whose slopes the spire of the church of Meolans occupies a prominent position. From Martinet the road crosses to the right side of the Ubaye, whence, pa.s.sing by Les Thuiles. 4 m.

from Barcelonnette, and St. Pons, 1 m., arrives at Barcelonnette. St.

Pons contains the ruins of a castle, a church said to be of the 7th cent., and a Via Crucis up a steep hill. The most curious part of the church is the S. portal, under a soffit, having pillars on each side.

Above the pillars are small quaint figures of the apostles, and over the door one of J. C. On the tympanum is a fresco representing the presentation of the kings to the child Jesus. On N. side of chancel is a square tower with short spire, which seems to have served as a pattern to all the church towers in, the department of the Alps, the characteristics being that the height of the tower is proportionally great to the height of the spire.

[Headnote: BARCELONNETTE. ST. PAUL.]

+Barcelonnette+, 3718 ft. above the sea, pop. 2100, _Hotels:_ Nord; France; on the Ubaye, in the midst of meadows, surrounded by mountains clothed with walnut, larch, and fir trees. The present village was built in 1230 on ground given by Reymond Beranger, in honour of whose ancestors, the Counts of Barcelona in Spain, the newly-erected town received its name. The parish church, begun in 1230, was, on account of a conflagration, nearly rebuilt in the 16th and 17th cents. The tour de l'horloge at the corner of the "Place" is all that remains of the church of N. D. de Confort, built in 1290 and destroyed in 1789.

From Barcelonnette, besides the coaches daily to Gap and Digne, there is also one to the village of St. Paul, 4730 ft. above the sea, and 13 m. N.E. from Barcelonnette, fare, 2 frs.; time, 3 hrs., by the Maddalena road, the length of 2 m. above La Condamine, where it diverges 6 m. N. up the narrow and picturesque gorge of the Ubaye.

The wheel-road continues 10 m. beyond St. Paul to Maurin, 6565 ft.

above the sea. From this a bridle-road enters Italy by the Col Longet, 8767 ft., and the hamlets of Chenal (Italian custom-house with a fair inn) and Chateau Dauphin and the river Vraita.

[Headnote: JAUSIERS. BERSEZIO.]

+Barcelonnette to Cuneo+ by the Col della Maddalena, Vinadio, Demonte, and Dalmazzo, 62 m. E., 12 hours' walk to Vinadio; whence there is a diligence to Cuneo. Wheel-road all the way (see map, p. 304). Guide not necessary. 3 m. from Barcelonnette is the hamlet of Faucon. 3 m.

more, Jausiers, pop. 1000, on the confluence of the Ubaye with the Sanieres and the Verdon. Church of the 14th cent. The road, to avoid the narrow pa.s.sage called the Pas de Gregoire, ascends to a considerable elevation, and then descends to the village of Condamine-Chatelard, 7 m. from Barcelonnette, under the fortress of Tournoux, with remarkable excavations and stairs. 2 m. beyond La Condamine the road divides into two. One goes northward up the valley of the Ubaye to St. Paul (see p. 341), the other goes to the Pa.s.s of +La Maddalena+. 7 m. beyond Chatelard, or 14 m. from Barcelonnette, is Larche, pop. 800, _Inns:_ Alpes; Italie; 5570 ft., the last French village. 5 m. beyond, or 19 m. from Barcelonnette, is the culminating point of the Pa.s.s of the Maddalena or Argentiere, 6548 ft. above the sea, between Mt. Mourre and the Punta della Signora, 7190 ft. The mule-path on the S.E. side now descends 850 ft. by the Lago della Maddalena, the source of the Stura, to the hamlets of Maddalena and Argentiera, 5596 ft., with an inn and Italian custom-house. A little distance farther, or about 7 m. from the Col and 24 from Barcelonnette, is Bersezio, with an inn situated amidst much fine wild scenery. 14 m. from Bersezio is Vinadio, with an inn. The Baths are up a steep glen, which ramifies southward from the Stura at the hamlet of Plancies, about 4 m. beyond the village of Vinadio. 8 m. from Vinadio is Demonte, near the junction of the Staura with the stream di Valcorera, descending from the pa.s.s of the Colle del Mulo, 8422 ft., leading over to the picturesque valley of the Grana, about 25 m. W.

from Cuneo. 12 m. from Demonte, 5 from Cuneo, and 57 from Barcelonnette is S. Dalmazzo, whence steam tram to Cuneo. (For Cuneo, see pp. 182 and 279.)

+Gap to Gren.o.ble by Laye, Corps, and La Mure+, 62 m. Diligence to Vizille, the remaining 8 m. by rail.

From Gap the diligence road extends 62 m. northwards to Gren.o.ble, by +Laye+, 6 m. N., where the Col de Bavard, 4088 ft., is traversed. On the summit is a house of refuge. 4 m. beyond Laye is Les Barraques, _Inn:_ H. Gentillon, near which is, at the mouth of the valley of the Drac, St. Bonnet, 3350 ft., pop. 2200, the birthplace of Lesdiguieres, in a most fertile district. 23 m. from Gap is Corps (see p. 333).

[Headnote: LA MURE. CHORGES.]

23 m. from Gren.o.ble and 38 from Gap is +La Mure+, pop. 3800, and 2860 ft. above the sea-level. _Inns:_ Pelloux; Commerce. A coach runs between La Mure and Gren.o.ble by La Motte. Situated on the Jonche.

There is a large trade carried on here in cattle and grain. 3 m.

distant are the anthracite mines of Availlans. 20 m. from Gren.o.ble is Pierre-Chatel, pop. 1200, to the E. of Mont Tabor, 7829 ft. 10 m. W.

by a branch road is Motte-les-Bains. 16 m. from Gren.o.ble is Laffrey (see p. 333).

26 m. from Veynes junction is +Chorges+, pop. 1900. _Inn:_ H. de la Poste. This, the ancient capital of the Caturiges, occupies a marshy unhealthy situation. The parish church was originally a temple to Diana. In the "Place" is a marble pedestal with the name of Nero. In and around the town are fragments of Roman buildings. The chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Rencontre, in the valley of Chorges, is visited by pilgrims.

[Headnote: SAVINES. EMBRUN.]

34 m. from Veynes is +Savines+, pop. 1300. _Inn:_ H. de la Poste, on the Reallon. This is the place to alight to visit the forest and valley of the Boscodon, with splendid gorges. The road extends all the way to the valley of the Ubaye, which it enters near Martinet and Meolan. 6 m. beyond Savines is

+Embrun+, 3014 ft. above the sea, pop. 4000. _Inns:_ Thouard; Poste; 8 m. S.E. from Reallon and 12 from Prunteres. This, the Ebrodunum of the Romans and one of their important military stations, is situated on an eminence in the midst of mountains on the Durance, and the S.

side of Mont St. Guillaume, 5550 ft. above the town. In a conspicuous situation stands the church of Notre Dame, said to have been founded in the time of Charlemagne. The walls, pierced with small round-headed deep-set windows with sculptured arches resting on colonnettes, are supported by flat b.u.t.tresses rising to the eaves. The facade or west end consists of a flat gable with a 4-storied spired tower rising from the N. side. Above the portal is a rose window with valuable old painted gla.s.s. The N. portal is within a portico on four columns. The two outer rest on lions; the two inner, each a cl.u.s.ter of four slender columns, rest on the shoulders of men in a sitting posture. The apse with its two apsidal chapels and part of the adjoining wall are probably the only parts of the church which date from the time of Charlemagne. The interior is about 60 yds. long and 25 wide. On each side of the nave are four wide spanned early pointed arches resting on ma.s.sive rectangular piers. Above each arch is a small roundheaded deeply-recessed window within a corniced arch resting on colonnettes.

Below in the aisles are their exact counterparts, only about double the size. The roof of the nave is quadripart.i.te, and that of the aisle semicircular. The high altar and angels are of white marble. The organ and most of the ornaments date from the time of Louis XI., who frequently visited this church to pray to Notre Dame d'Embrun, that white marble image of the Virgin and Child over the altar fronting the northern entrance. On the inside of the northern doorway (left hand) are two horseshoes, not exactly of the same size. It is said that Lesdiguieres, the Protestant leader, attempting to ride into the church to the altar of the image of Notre Dame, the horse reared, and the shoes of its hind hoofs sticking to the pavement, the animal could proceed no farther.

Behind the cathedral is the archbishop's palace, now a barrack. In the centre rises a lofty square machicolated tower called the Tour Brune.

3 m. S. the road pa.s.ses the village of Les Crottes.