Lucéram

Lucéram

A view of Lucéram in winter

Coat of arms
Lucéram

Coordinates: 43°53′00″N 7°21′41″E / 43.8833°N 7.3614°E / 43.8833; 7.3614Coordinates: 43°53′00″N 7°21′41″E / 43.8833°N 7.3614°E / 43.8833; 7.3614
Country France
Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department Alpes-Maritimes
Arrondissement Nice
Canton L'Escarène
Intercommunality Pays des Paillons
Government
  Mayor (20082014) André Gal
Area1 65.52 km2 (25.30 sq mi)
Population (2008)2 1,259
  Density 19/km2 (50/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 06077 / 06440
Elevation 400–1,567 m (1,312–5,141 ft)
(avg. 660 m or 2,170 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.

Lucéram (Italian: Lucerame) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Lucéram is in the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Its inhabitants are called the Lucéramois.

Luceram village is home of Peïra-Cava, the first station of winter sports department created in 1909. The village has many ecclesiastical and medieval monuments and altarpieces of Ludovico Brea.

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1962628    
1968630+0.3%
1975694+10.2%
1982889+28.1%
19901,026+15.4%
19991,035+0.9%
20081,259+21.6%

Geography

The town is built on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Foil. In the lower valley, there is an intersection of the salt road that leads from the port of Nice in Savoy, through the valley of Vésubie. The village lies at 650 meters altitude, and 27 kilometers from Nice by D 2566.

Toponymy

The origin of the name "Lucéram" is uncertain.

Lucéram is originally the name Lucerius or Lucerus. Lucerius was a Benedictine monk. The name is a derivative of a Luceranus that appears in text in 1057, and may have given the village its name. The Latin phrase Lux eram ("I was light") could also be the origin of the name. Durante gives another expression, Lucus eram ("I was a sacred grove"), which appears to refer to the ancient worship of the forest that surrounds the village. This etymology is questionable when it is compared with its Latin name Pagus Liccirum. Louis Durante also indicates that the village was built on a fully wooded eminence. In ancient texts there are also the names Lucis-ramus and Luciramus. Luceram was the capital of the tribe of Lepontii quoted on listing Trophée des Alpes.

Sights

Sights include the church St. Margaret (late 15th century), housing an altarpiece by Ludovico Brea and a 13th-century Pietà.

Culture

Each year, the mayor and villagers decorate the village in the theme of Christmas. The village is covered with pine branches and red and gold ribbons. There are nativity scenes set up on window sills, in cellars or any available nook and cranny.

See also

References

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