This year, several cultural events have marked Tarascon, as part of “Provençal Capital of Culture 2022”, a label awarded by the Department of Bouches-du-Rhône.
The city celebrated the 150th anniversary of the publication of the first novel in Alphonse Daudet’s trilogy. Thus, the adventures of the famous Tartarin de Tarascon, burlesque and naive hero have been given pride of place in an exhibition “Tartarin de Tarascon, the invention of a hero”, which explores the figure of the most famous Tarasconnais, in an approach both historical, literary and ethnographic.
Then, the Italian-style theater classified as a historical monument was completely renovated. Built in the 19th century in the former nave of the Gothic church of the Dominican convent, this jewel of history and culture, the pride of the Tarasconnais, regained its prestige and reopened its doors in December.
To arrive in town in an original way, a river cruise along the Rhône, from Martigues via Arles and Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône allows a stopover in Tarascon. Boarding!
Montpaon: diving into the heart of medieval Provence.
Not far from there, in the town of Fontvieille, to the far west of the Alpilles Regional Natural Park, the departmental domain of Montpaon is an ideal green setting for hiking. At its summit, it shelters the ruins of a medieval village comprising a castle, a church and living quarters carved into the rock.
The Montpaon castrum placed on this isolated limestone mound offers an exceptional 360° view of the Baux-de-Provence, the Alpilles, Montmajour, the plains of Arles and La Crau, the Etang de Berre. To the north, the Ventoux looms in the distance, and to the south, the view extends to the Mediterranean.
A beautiful alliance between mineral beauty, archaeological and scientific interest.
