Provence is a land apart, a territory of outstanding beauty and distinction that has exercised a fascination for outsiders since earliest times. The Greeks, the Romans, the barbarians of the North and the Moors have all left their traces in its villages and small towns, from the hills and mountains of the Lubéron, and the vine-growing country of the Var, to the villages perchés of the Alpes-Maritimes.

It is in such smaller communities that the true Provençal spirit can be found: in brilliant sunlight falling across the tightly grouped terracotta roofs of hill villages, or in the velvety shade beneath great plane trees in an ancient square – the country of Marcel Pagnol and Jean de Florette. Such scenes come alive here in Hugh Palmer’s radiant photographs and Michael Jacobs’ evocative accounts of the most beautiful villages – their architecture, landscape and people –†of this, the best-loved of all French provinces.

The book opens with the villages of the Vaucluse and the Bouches-du-Rhône, the west of the province and the usual entry point. Moving east to the Var and eventually to the mountains of the Alpine départements, the author and photographer together draw out the special characteristics of the region.

The variety of the villages of Provence is astonishing. This book is a celebration of that variety – and of the beauty and spirit of a place which has continued to entrance outsiders, from ancient times to the present day.

For the visitor, there are specially compiled listings of hotels, restaurants, festivals and markets to complete this magnificent photographic tribute.


ISBN 0500541876