|
 St. Paul/Vence, France: romantic St. Paul/Vence vacations, St. Paul/Vence honeymoons.
St Paul has always been a little too far from the sea to share in much of the general prosperity, but it was discovered by artists in the 1920s and has been an artistic, rather than jet-set, centre ever since, that rebirth accounting for the huge number of art galleries in the village. For further proof, the visitor need look no further than the Maeght Foundation, a modern art museum set in a suitably
designed building constructed in 1964.
Some of the art on view is pleasantly displayed outdoors. Artists represented in the museum include Braque, Miro, Chagall and Kandinsky, and the work includes not only paintings, but sculptures and stained glass as well. In the village there are excellent views from the old ramparts, and the church is worth visiting for a fine painting of St Catherine of Alexandria attributed to Tintoretto. The museum of local history in the Place de la Castre explores facets of St Paul's history in eight diaramas.
Vence also has much to occupy the visitor. Though originally a Ligurian town, Vence was important in Roman times, and equally significant in the early
years of Christian France. In the Wars of Religion, the town was besieged by Huguenots but did not fall, a fact commemorated each Easter with a festival.
The visitor should definitely not miss the Old Town, which still has part of the original defensive wall and the old castle. The castle -built by the Barons of Villeneuve whose conflicts with the Bishops of Vence enrich the town's medieval
history- houses the Fondation Emile Hugues, named for a former town mayor. There is a permanent art collection, but the Foundation chiefly exists to promote contemporary art by way of an annual series of exhibitions.
The castle stands in Place du Frê named for the huge ash-tree that dominates it. The tree is said to have been planted to commemorate the visit of Franc's I and Pope Paul III to town. Close by is
the old cathedral, on the site of a Roman temple to Mars and an early, Merovingian, church. The cathedral is in fine Romanesque style. |
