The Vaunage is an area of southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

made up of the plain and the small hills around Nages, which is known for its Gallic

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...

. The Vaunage area is located between

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

and

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

and between Sommières and Nîmes. It is north of the

Camargue Camargue (, also , , ; oc, label= Provençal, Camarga) is a region of France located south of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône delta. The eastern arm is called the ''Grand Rhône''; the western one is the '' ...

. From east to west the villages of Vaunage are: Caveirac, Clarensac, Langlade, Saint-Dionizy, Nages-et-Solorgues,

Calvisson Calvisson (; Provençal: ''Cauviçon'') is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region in southern France. It lies between Nîmes, Montpellier, the Cevennes and the Camargue and has a strong Protestant history. Geography C ...

, Boissières, Saint-Côme-et-Maruéjols,

Congénies Congénies (; oc, Congènhas) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. It is situated between Nîmes, Montpellier, the Cévennes and the Camargue and has a strong Quaker history. Congénies possesses the only and oldest purpose ...

. Geographical, historical and cultural regions of France

Demography

According to the 1999 census, The population of the Vaunage was 15,250, the area being 9981 ha. * Boissières : 485 area 333 ha *

: 4725 area 2897 ha * Caveirac : 3860 area 1479 ha * Clarensac : 3117 area 1449 ha *

: 1672 area 864 ha * Langlade : 2850 area 900 ha * Nages-et-Solorgues : 1150 area 18 ha * Saint-Côme-et-Maruéjols : 580 area 1400 ha * Saint-Dionizy : 1050 area 641 ha

History

The name is a contraction of "Vallée de Nages", the valley of Nages. The valley is a furrowed

combe A combe (; also spelled coombe or coomb and, in place names, comb) can refer either to a steep, narrow valley, or to a small valley or large hollow on the side of a hill; in any case, it is often understood simply to mean a small valley through wh ...

at the edge of the

garrigue Garrigue or garigue ( ), also known as phrygana ( el, φρύγανα , n. pl.), is a type of low scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. It is found on limestone soils in southern ...

s plateau, surrounded by 200m-high hills that isolate it from the surroundings. There are two natural entrances, one to east coming from Nîmes, and one to the south towards

Vergèze Vergèze (; oc, Vergesa) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. Vergèze-Codognan station has rail connections to Nîmes, Avignon and Montpellier. Located just south-east of the commune is the production facility for Perrier, ...

. This geographical situation has led to a strong regional identity. Le

Camisard Camisards were Huguenots (French Protestants) of the rugged and isolated Cévennes region and the neighbouring Vaunage in southern France. In the early 1700s, they raised a resistance against the persecutions which followed Louis XIV's Revocation ...

chief,

Jean Cavalier Jean Cavalier (28 November 1681 – 17 May 1740), was the Huguenot chief of the Camisards. He was born at Mas Roux, a small hamlet in the commune of Ribaute near Anduze, southern France. Early life His father, an illiterate peasant, had been ...

called it "petite Chanaan", little Canaan. This is an agricultural region, rich in history. There are hundreds of archaeological sites in this small area. These valleys have been populated for over 2,000 years. Six ''oppida'', dominated by that at Nages, were home to the Volques, who built them in the 8th century BC and remained there till the 1st century AD : * Oppidum de Nages-et-Solorgues ; in the commune of the same name; * Oppidum de Roque de Viou, in the commune of Saint-Dionizy; * Oppidum de la Liquière, above the hamlet of Sinsans, in the commune of

; * Oppidum de la Font du Coucou above Calvisson; * Oppidum du Roc de Gachonne above Calvisson; * Oppidum de Mauressip or "Mouressipe", in the commune of Saint-Côme-et-Maruéjols. However it is the oppidum of Nages that has provided the richest archeological finds. This region has a strong

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

history, and is today predominantly Protestant.

is unique in France in having a Quaker Meeting House and cemetery. One finds many recent chateaux, mas and bastides. The Camargue traditions such as the ''running of the bulls'' happen in each village. The soil is argilo-calcaire so the flora is essentially that of the garrigue- and this leads to fine wines. However, the region is being targeted by the expanding housing needs of Nîmes. The former railway has been transformed into a cycle way,«voie verte» opening the Vaunage to Green Touris

Literature

Cartulaire de Nîmes (en 955, occitan, cited by Idebert Exbrayat, in ''Si la Vaunage m'était contée'', Nouvelle Édition, 1992) : :''Sé la Vaunagea éro un moton,'' :''Sant Comé en sérié lou rognon.'' :''E poudés passa dés partot,'' :''Sant Donisé en sérié la flou.'' :(If the Vaunage were a sheep, :Saint Côme would be the Kidney. :And you could pass throughout, :Saint Dionisy would be the flower.) Poème sur la Vaunage (''Voyage autour de la Vaunage'' de Maurice Aliger, membre de l' Académie de Nîmes. Page 30. Imprimerie BENE. 1983) : :''Généreuse et opulente Vaunage,'' :''triplement riche'' :''du fruit de l'olivier,'' :''de vins ensoleillés'' :''et de blonds chasselas'' ; :Generous and opulent Vaunage, three times rich :its olives :its sunbaked red wines :and fair

chasselas Chasselas or Chasselas blanc is a wine grape variety grown mainly in Switzerland, France, Germany, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, New Zealand, Croatia and Chile. Chasselas is mostly winemaking, vinified to be a full, Dry (wine), dry and fruit ...

Personalities

* Christine Majolier * Tony Dombre * Maurice Aliger

Sources

* ''Les Oppida de la Vaunage, du VIII^e au III^e siècle avant JC.'' Dossier réalisé par Geneviève Paillet, Hélène Peyre, Ghislaine Richard, sous la dir. de Maryse Clary, avec l'aide scientifique de Michel Py, Editions CNDP, Nîmes, 1986, {{ISBN, 90-376-0431-5.

External links

La Vaunage

Blog sur le village de Langlade
Geography of France Geography of Gard