Rians (Var)

Rians is a commune with 4253 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the Var department in the Provence- Alpes- Côte d' Azur.

Geography

The municipality is located in the northwest of the Var. It extends over a vast forested area and three broad valleys. Rians is the chief town of a canton, which is adjacent to several departments: In the north of the department of Alpes- de -Haute -Provence, on the west by Bouches -du -Rhône and in between at a few hundred meters long boundary to the department of Vaucluse. Rians is located near the Massif de la Sainte -Baume, the Sainte Victoire Mountain, the Pays d' Aix and the lakes of the Verdon.

History

The name of the town first appears in the sources of the 11th century. At that time it was called Riannum or variance. Originally it was a fief of the chapter of Saint- Sauveur. 1348 handed Queen Johanna I. the village of Raymond d' Agoult. Later it counted then the reign of Valbelle and Castellane. During construction of the church of Saint -Laurent was found the lifeless body of a woman from the family of Fabri in a very good state of preservation. She was venerated as a saint, her body decayed after he was brought to the Büßerkapelle.

Personalities

• Rians is the home of the mystic Antoine Yvan, who lived in the 16th century.