Eze, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France
The photograph on this unused black & white postcard shows the perched village of Eze in Southern France. The card has the number 1348 “Eze – Le Vieux village, la viaduct, la Moyenn, Corniche et le Cap Ferrat” at the upper right corner on the reverse. The card is a product of Edition “La Cigogne” 15, Rue St.-Francois-de-Paule, Nice. Without automobiles or people, it is difficult to estimate the year this picture was taken. It came with several other similar cards from friends K & J. Some of those cards appear to be from the 1930s, hence it possible this is approximately from the same time.
Eze is located about 5 miles or 8 km northeast of Nice on the French Riviera. It has been described as an eagle’s nest since it is on a 1401 ft or 427 m high cliff above the sea. The first settlements in the area were established in about 2000 BC. In the late 1800s a cache or hoard of ancient Greek silver decorative shallow bowls called phialae dating from the 3rd century BC was found in Eze. The bowls are now part of the British Museum’s collection. This area was later occupied by Romans and later the Moors. William of Provence drove the Moors out in 973. From about 1388 to 1860 the history of Eze was often turbulent. The town was fortified as a stronghold and switched hands between France and Turkey. In 1860 the people of Eze unanimously decided to be designated part of France.
There are three roads called the Corniche Roads or cliff roads along the French Riviera that follow the mountainous stretch between Nice to Menton, Italy. The top card shows the viaduct and part of the Moyenne Corniche. The unused card below, with the number 1330 on the reverse, has a picture of another of the roads. This road is called La Grande Corniche and shows a part of the snow covered Alps in the background.
La Grande Corniche au Col d'Eze
In 2012 I traveled to France with my daughter, my grandson, and his high school AP French class, a group consisting of about 40 teenagers, and 6 adults. We had a wonderful tour guide and visited many amazing places. Eze was the second perched village the group was scheduled to visit. No cars or buses are allowed beyond a point and most of the way is a steep climb with lots of stairs up to the top where there are spectacular views of the sea. Our guide told me she wanted me to stay at the bottom in a café while she took the students and the other adults up to the viewpoint. I admit I was the oldest person in the group and it is unlikely that the guide had had someone my age on a tour before since she specialized in school tours. Perhaps she thought the climb would be too much for me. I said I would rather stay in Nice, spend a relaxing day enjoying the sea, walking down to the flower market, and shopping. I definitely did not want to be parked in a café all day. My daughter and grandson went to Eze with the group and told me about it later. I was sorry to have missed it but I had a lovely day by myself and picked up this watercolor painting of Eze by a local artist at the flower market.
Eze Village
Thanks to K & J for sharing the postcards.
For additional information, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%88ze
https://frenchmoments.eu/corniche-roads-of-the-french-riviera/
No comments:
Post a Comment