La Gaude

La Gaude

The church of La Gaude

Coat of arms
La Gaude

Coordinates: 43°43′22″N 7°09′13″E / 43.7228°N 7.1536°E / 43.7228; 7.1536Coordinates: 43°43′22″N 7°09′13″E / 43.7228°N 7.1536°E / 43.7228; 7.1536
Country France
Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department Alpes-Maritimes
Arrondissement Grasse
Canton Vence
Intercommunality Communauté d'agglomération de Nice-Côte d'Azur
Government
  Mayor (20082014) Michel Meini
Area1 13.1 km2 (5.1 sq mi)
Population (2008)2 6,716
  Density 510/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 06065 / 06610
Elevation 24–349 m (79–1,145 ft)
(avg. 236 m or 774 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

La Gaude is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.

History

To the south of the village, a restored Roman stele is close to the Aurelian Way, the Roman road that passed near the present cultural centre.[1]

After the Saracen attacks in the ninth century, the inhabitants of the nearby and higher village of Saint-Jeannet descended to the more fertile and less rugged La Gaude area. "La Gauda" is mentioned in 1075. Soon the village was burned for having converted to the Cathar heresy. When the frontier became the nearby River Var, the village was again destroyed.

The village was affected by the plague in the fifteenth century and abandoned until the late sixteenth century. La Gaude became an independent community in 1599, separating from Saint Jeannet. Looting took place in 1704 and for five days in 1707. In the twentieth century, La Gaude was transformed by the arrival of piped water.

The Provençal writer, Marcel Pagnol, was captivated by the village, writing, "I will be back in a fortnight and will rush to your place to admire your barbaric flowers and drink your civilised wine." (« Je reviendrai dans une quinzaine et je m’élancerai chez vous pour admirer vos fleurs barbares et boire votre vin civilisé. »)[2] He bought a property in the village, the domaine de l'Étoile.

IBM established a research centre in La Gaude in the 1960s.[3]

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
19621,072    
19681,631+52.1%
19752,309+41.6%
19823,097+34.1%
19904,951+59.9%
19996,170+24.6%
20086,716+8.8%

Tourism

See also

References

  1. La Gaude website:"La stèle romaine"
  2. 1 2 3 4 Booklet The route of perched villages, Communaute Nice Côte d'Azur, 2007
  3. French Ministry of Culture database entry, institut de recherche dit Centre d'études et de recherches IBM
  4. La Gaud website: La chapelle Saint-Ange (French)

External links

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