Die, Drôme

Die (French pronunciation: ​[di]; Occitan: Diá [ˈdjɔ]) is a commune, former episcopal see, and subprefecture of the Drôme department in southeastern France. The region around Die is known as the Diois.

Die is best known for the Clairette de Die, a sparkling wine. It was a county in the High Middle Ages. It was once the see of a Roman Catholic diocese and its cathedral remains.

Geography

Die is situated in a valley, surrounded by the Glandasse mountain (6696 feet), a massive and steep rocky barrier, which separates the area (Pays Diois) from the Vercors Plateau. The territory of the commune of Die is part of the regional natural park of these regions.

History

Clearly, there were inhabitants during the Neolithic age, this has been confirmed by Chanqueyras excavations. A big engraved standing stone and two small menhirs that are now in the Die museum were found near the wine cooperative, (these) also proved inhabitation in this area at that time. The remains of the final Bronze Age were discovered at La Roche De Marginal, for example, some shards have been found at Chandillon. A first agglomeration seems to have appeared at the beginning of the roman era, on a little mountain pass overhanging the Drôme, and the small valley of Meyrosse, at the crossroad between the valley and the path to Trièves. Lots of clues show the extension of urbanisation during the 1st century. At the beginning of the 2nd century, the city of Die constructs monuments and becomes a Roman capital, replacing Luc-en-Diois in that function for the Celtic people of northern Voconces. It seems it will be named as a colony towards the end of the 2nd century or during the 3rd century because the town became an important centre of fertility goddess Cybele’s cult.

Drôme

Drôme (French pronunciation: ​[dʁom]; Droma in Occitan, Drôma in Arpitan) is a department in southeastern France named after the Drôme River.

History

St Vallier in Drôme, was the birthplace of one of France's most famous courtesans, the noble-born Diane de Poitiers (1499-1566), long-term mistress of King Henri II (1547-1559).

The French National Constituent Assembly set up Drôme as one of the original 83 departments of France on March 4, 1790, during the French Revolution. The territory formed part of the former French province of Dauphiné.

Geography

Drôme lies within the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and is surrounded by the departments of Ardèche, Isère, Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Vaucluse.

The boundaries of the department have changed several times with the incorporation of the Comtat Venaissin in 1792 and the creation of the department of Vaucluse in 1793. Drôme surrounds an exclave of the department of Vaucluse, the Canton of Valréas (Enclave des Papes).

Climate

Economy

Drôme (disambiguation)

Drôme can mean:

Drôme (Aure)

The Drôme is a 57.9 km long river in Normandy. Its source is on the border of the Manche and Calvados departments, at le Grand Cauville locality, near Saint-Martin-des-Besaces and joins the Aure, left bank at Maisons, downstream of Bayeux in the Bessin region. It is a sub-affluent of the Vire.

Watershed

The watershed of the Drôme neighbours those of the Vire, Aure (east), Tortonne (NW) and Seulles (SE).

It is a narrow, northward basin. The longest of its affluents is the ruisseau du Vey (7.3 km)),which it joins at Cormolain.

Drôme valley

References