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BRANTES
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Dominated
by the majestic summit of the Mont-Ventoux, overlooking Toulourenc
on the cliffside of Pié-Chastel, Brantes is one of the most
beautiful sites in the area. Entrenched in the Toulourenc valley,
the village lives at the rhythm of its craftsmen (santon-makers,
potters, dress-makers, gallery/ coffee shop).
The
village boasts a panoramic view of the northern slope of the Mont-Ventoux,
overlooking the farms of Mouret, Frache and Bernards. The
farms are inhabited by families of farmers who, from generation
to generation, through the centuries, have made the countryside
what it is. The splendid view is one of a neat garden of vegetables,
lavender, apricot trees, cherry trees, olive-trees and vines.
Known
as Brantulis in 1073, Brantoe in 1372, Brantoulz and Brantoux in
1550, the village definitively took the name of Brantes which came
from the word “ branlantes ” referring to the “loose” stones which
surround it.
The
medieval castle’s ruins overlook the village from the top of the
hill. All that remains of this once majestic building are
a few walls and two buried water cisterns.
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The
chapel, known as the Pénitents Blancs dedicated to Notre-Dame-de-Pitié,
built at the beginning of the XVIIIth century, is built on the site
of an older chapel known as Saint Alexis or Notre Dame des Grâces.
For two centuries this chapel was the home of the Pénitents
Blancs fraternity, a charitable religious order, still existent
nowadays. A beautiful carved wooden statuette of the Virgin
can be admired.
A
hospice, the Saint Elzéar church was built on the site at
the end of the XIVth century, followed by the Saint Sidoine church,
constructed on the very same spot in 1684.
This
succession of constructions, through the centuries, bears witness
to Brantes’ extremely rich past, a total contrast with the tranquility
of the village nowadays.
The
Saint Jean Baptiste chapel built in the cemetery dates back to the
XIIth century and was the first church in Brantes.
- To
taste :
Lavender
honey, spelt, Ventoux lamb.
- Practice
:
Mairie
de Brantes - Le Village - 84390 BRANTES - Tél. 04
75 28 09 46
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