Fontvieille
Les Moulins d’Alphonse Daudet
- Historic site and monument
Combining sublime landscapes and fiercely preserved traditions, the harmony of the Alpilles has inspired the greatest artists.
Whether they be writers, painters, intellectuals or musicians, many of them have made this part of Provence a land dedicated to art and culture.
“Oh, sweetness of life!”
“It is in the most abundant and luminous little town of Provence that I spent the calm years of my adolescence. Through the sun, the flowers, the cypresses, through the white roads, the days came to me without effort, and I only had to breathe to feel the beauty of the sky.” Marie Gasquet
On 8 May 1889, Vincent van Gogh had himself voluntarily admitted to Saint-Paul de Mausole psychiatric Hospital in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where he would stay until May 1890. During the year he spent there, Vincent van Gogh painted nearly 150 canvases and drawings that are among his greatest masterpieces.
DISCOVER VINCENT VAN GOGH
Saint-Rémy-de-Provence was the birthplace of a person famous the world over for his predictions: Michel de Nostredame, better known as Nostradamus.
More about Nostradamus
It was in the Alpilles that classical music composer Charles Gounod composed his opera Mireille, an adaptation of the poem of the same name by Frédéric Mistral. The premiere was performed at Gounod Hotel in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and was an international success.
"Mireille" Opera
An unconditional lover of Provence, Alphonse Daudet wrote his most beautiful pages in the heart of the Alpilles. With "Letters From My Windmill", he made the Provençal accent resound throughout France and the world.
More about Alphonse DaudetAlphonse Daudet's favourite places
Other writers such as Marie Mauron, Charloun Rieu, Marie Gasquet and Joseph Roumanille, have greatly contributed to the cultural influence of the Alpilles and Provençal language.
