Montagne Sainte-Victoire

Montagne Sainte- Victoire and Venturi / Santa Venturi, Venturi / Santo Venturi ( Provençal) is a limestone mountain ridge in the south of France, which is over 18 kilometers between the départements of Bouches -du -Rhône and Var in southern Provence ( Provence- Alpes- Côte d' Azur) extends. Its highest point is the Pic of the vitreous with 1,011 meters above sea level; However, the peak is not the highest point in Bouches -du -Rhone, but the Massif de la Sainte -Baume.

The mountains made ​​famous by the painter Paul Cézanne, who could see it from his house in the nearby Les Lauves in the north of Aix en Provence and took it as a motif of many paintings. The summit cross Croix de Provence stands out with a height of 19 meters, but it is not the highest point of the mountain.

History and Tourism

Originally referred to as the Montagne de la Victoire, the mountain was among the Christians in the Middle Ages Sainte- Venture. In the 13th century a chapel was built on the summit. Not until the 17th century that the mountain received its present name.

In 1989 a fire destroyed 50 km ² of vegetation on the south side of the mountain. There have already been planted many conifers, but the old state as it was before the fire, has not yet been reached. During the summer the mountain access is restricted or prohibited depending on weather conditions. During the period of free access, the Sainte- Victoire mountain is a popular destination for fans of hiking, mountaineering, paragliding and, to a lesser extent, for cave hikers. Approximately 700,000 hikers each year are traveling here.

Except for the Cezanne Montagne Sainte- Victoire has also been a source of inspiration for other artists, such as:

  • The painter Pablo Picasso, the Château de Vauvenargues, situated in the same place at the foot of the mountain, and there bought used a studio between 1959 and 1962.
  • The painter Wassily Kandinsky
  • The writer Peter Handke The teaching of the Sainte- Victoire (1980 )
  • The writer Guy Gavriel Kay with Ysabel (2007)
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