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Tarascon (; ), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Tarasconnaises. The patron saint of the city is Martha, whose motto is "Concordia Felix".
In the second part of the first Iron Age (7th–6th centuries BC), the population shifted from a nomadic lifestyle to a sedentary one and began to construct extensive buildings. Trade intensified with the Eastern Mediterranean, with the people of the area likely trading grain for luxury goods.Y. Marcadal, « Les oppida des Alpilles », in Les Alpilles, op. cit, p. 146.
Located along the Rhone, at the crossroads between Avignon, the Camargue and the Luberon, Tarascon is still associated with fairy tales and legends dating back to prehistory. According to tradition, Martha of Bethany, who came from Judea, landed at Tarascon c. AD 48 where an amphibious dragon or tarasque was destroying the river traffic. She tamed the beast only for it to be butchered by the townspeople.Cf. 'The Dragon and the Holy Cross', in: Ernest Ingersoll,et al. The Illustrated Book of Dragons and Dragon Lore. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books 2013. Many pilgrims visit the Royal College of Sainte-Marthe, built in her honor near the castle of King René. This sanctuary, the main monument of the city, contains the relics and the tomb of St. Martha in the crypt which was built on the exact location of her house.
Rostagnetus of Tharascone, knight, was provost of Nice, Alderman of Tarascon (1322, 1325) and son of former co-lords of the city in the 12th century. In 1366–67, Guillam de Sault ruled Tarascon. He received an annual salary of 90 florins. The death of Queen Joanna I reopened a succession crisis at the head of the County of Provence, the cities of the Aix Union (1382–1387) supporting Charles de Duras against Louis I of Anjou . Tarascon hesitated before joining the Union of Aix, the community deciding in 1383, without committing itself very firmly. When Louis I died, Tarascon was also one of the first cities to receive Jacques Reillanne, Ambassador of his widow Marie de Blois, regent of Louis II of Anjou, in the summer of 1385. He successfully persuaded them to switch sides and join the Angevin Kings of Anjou. The castle is well preserved. The work of construction began in 1400 under Louis II of Anjou and completed in 1449 by his son, King René, led by Guillaume Crespin, captain of the castle, and his lieutenant, Regnault Serocourt, its close relative . With an impressive defensive system, the building also houses a princely residence.
The town was damaged by Allied bombings from June to August 1944, during World War II. The bombings, targeting the bridges across the Rhone in an attempt to hamper the German retreat, destroyed parts of the old town. The first bombing took place on 25 June 1944. On 16 August 1944 the tip of the church tower of Église Sainte-Marthe was destroyed.
Collegiate Sainte-Marthe was dedicated in 1197 and enlarged in the 14th and 15th centuries. The crypt houses the relics of Martha in a sarcophagus of the fourth century.
It consists of two independent parts: the South, the stately home, flanked by round towers on the city side and river side with walls of up to 48 m high and square towers and the North, the lower court that defends the rectangular constructions. It stands right on the banks of the Rhône opposite Château de Beaucaire, and near St Martha's Collegiate Church.
On average, Tarascon experiences 18.2 days per year with a minimum temperature below , no days per year with a minimum temperature below , 0.2 days per year with a maximum temperature below , and 56.2 days per year with a maximum temperature above . The record high temperature was on 28 June 2019, while the record low temperature was on 4 January 1993.
A mythological monster, the Tarasque, is said to have lived there at the beginning of the 1st century. It was purportedly tamed by Martha in 48 AD.
The novel Tartarin de Tarascon (1872) and its two sequels Tartarin sur les Alpes (1885) and Port-Tarascon (1890), by Alphonse Daudet, were set here. From 1985 to 2008, there was a small museum in the town, dedicated to the fictional character Tartarin.
A festival is held every year on the last Sunday of June to remember Tartarin and the Tarasque.
Private museum Souleiado. Opened in 1988 in the 17th century hôtel d'Ayminy. Musée Souleiado
Olive oil from the Valley of Baux-de-Provence is a protected designation of origin (AOC) from an order made by the INAO, the 27 August 1997. The varieties of olives that fall within this order are the Béruguette, Grossane and verdale Bouches-du-Rhône. It also produces crushed olives and black olives included in the order of the INAO. The varieties of olives crushed are salonenque and Béruguette. For black olives the only variety accepted is Grossane.
Apart from agriculture, the industry most easily identifiable around the Alpilles is tourism. Even the wine and olive oil producers take into account the development of tourism and increasingly offer tasting services. There are three main types of tourism in the Alpilles. First, the historical and cultural tourism that relies on a rich historical heritage (Les Baux-de-Provence, Glanum, etc..) or festivals. Second, the relaxation tourism resulting in a significant expansion of B&Bs, hotels and rented properties. Finally, the green tourism that benefits from the many hiking trails and protected framework offered by the massif and its surroundings.
The GR 6 GR footpath runs through Tarascon.
Coat of arms
Tarascon's coat of arms depicts in its upper half the city's castle, and in the lower half the fearsome tarasque, legendary tamed by Martha, but here in the process of devouring a man.
Culture
Municipal theater.
Administration
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Economy
In 2008, the median household income tax was €13,986, placing in Tarascon 29,178th among the 31,604 communes with more than 50 households in France.
Population
Personalities
Twin towns
Transportation
Tarascon is served by Tarascon station and several bus lines.
See also
Further reading
External links
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