Provence

Provence (French pronunciation: ​[pʁɔ.vɑ̃s]; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm, pronounced [pʀuˈvɛⁿsɔ]) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône River on the west to the Italian border on the east, and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea on the south. It largely corresponds with the modern administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, and includes the départements of Var, Bouches-du-Rhône, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and parts of Alpes-Maritimes and Vaucluse. The largest city of the region is Marseille.

The Romans made the region into the first Roman province beyond the Alps and called it Provincia Romana, which evolved into the present name. It was ruled by the Counts of Provence from their capital in Aix-en-Provence until 1481, when it became a province of the Kings of France. While it has been part of France for more than five hundred years, it still retains a distinct cultural and linguistic identity, particularly in the interior of the region.

Provence wine

Provence (Provençal) wine comes from the French wine-producing region of Provence in southeast France. The Romans called the area provincia nostra ("our province"), giving the region its name. Just south of the Alps, it was the first Roman province outside Italy.

Wine has been made in this region for at least 2,600 years, ever since the ancient Greeks founded the city of Marseille in 600 BC. Throughout the region's history, viticulture and winemaking have been influenced by the cultures that have been present in Provence, which include the Ancient Greeks, Romans, Gauls, Catalans and Savoyards. These diverse groups introduced a large variety of grapes to the region, including grape varieties of Greek and Roman origin as well as Spanish, Italian and traditional French wine grapes.

Today the region is known predominantly for its rosé wine, though wine critics such as Tom Stevenson believe that region's best wines are the spicy, full-flavoured red wines. Rosé wine currently accounts for more than half of the production of Provençal wine, with red wine accounting for about a third of the region's production. White wine is also produced in small quantities throughout the region with the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) region of Cassis specializing in white wine production. The Côtes de Provence is the largest AOC followed by the Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence. The Bandol region near Toulon is one of the more internationally recognized Provençal wine regions.

Provence, Switzerland

Provence is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.

History

Provence is first mentioned in 1340 as Provency.

Geography

Provence has an area, as of 2009, of 31.84 square kilometers (12.29 sq mi). Of this area, 17.36 km² (6.70 sq mi) or 54.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 13.74 km² (5.31 sq mi) or 43.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.7 km² (0.27 sq mi) or 2.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and 0.06 km² (15 acres) or 0.2% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 0.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.5%. Out of the forested land, 36.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 7.0% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 3.2% is used for growing crops and 12.4% is pastures and 38.6% is used for alpine pastures.

The municipality was part of the Grandson District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Provence became part of the new district of Jura-Nord Vaudois.