Gordes Village is a "star"
of Provence, intensively photographed. The village is perched on a last
southern foothills of the mountains of Vaucluse. It dominates the entrance
to the valley Calavon, facing the Luberon massif. Gordes
is a mineral citadel and its stones glimmer underneath the shining sunset.
The buildings made of flat stones reach here perfection in their techniques
and in their harmony with the landscape. Gordes is naturally listed among
France's most beautiful villages.
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The artists painting in the 20th
century, painters and photographers, who "discovered" Gordes.
The first arrived after the Second World War, Marc Chagall, Jean and Andre
Lhote Deyrolle Gordes creating a colony of artists. Painters Vasarelly
Victor Victor Spahn, Pol Mara, the photographer Willy Ronis has among
other names associated with Gordes.
With growing fame, the economy of the provençal
village has turned to tourism. Many visitors come here to admire picturesque
scenery, but do not halt for a very long time. If you stay here a few
hours, you will appreciate the athmosphere of a provencal village and
you may be crossing one of many well known personalitie who have chosen
this place as a vacation.
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A rectangular castle stays at the
centre of Gordes. Although it was erected in 1525 at the Renaissance,
to replace a previous one, the castle keeps a medieval shape and its offic
of fortress in those time troubled with the Religion's war. More pacifically,
the castle is now a museum, it sheltered the paintings of the contemporary
painter Vasarely, famous Gordes inhabitant, for thirty years. The rooms
display now the work of the flemish painter Pol Mara.
The ancient village is criss-crossed
with old and winding streets, paved with stone, from wich we admire a
wonderful outlook on the Luberon mountain and the Calavon's valley. The
Saint Firmin church has a romanesque origine and was modified
i nthe 17th century.
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You will find many Art galeries and
artists exhibition in Gordes. An open theatre, carved in the raw stone,
is a privileged place for a summer Festival named "Soirée
d'été à Gordes.
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