Cadenet () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.department in the

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in southeastern

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 ...

. Its inhabitants are called ''Cadenétiens'' in French.

Geography

Cadenet is a village located on the southern slopes of the

Luberon The Luberon ( or ; Provençal: ''Leberon'' or ''Leberoun'' ) is a massif in central Provence in Southern France, part of the French Prealps. It has a maximum elevation of and an area of about . It is composed of three mountain ranges (from w ...

Massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

, overlooking the valley of the Durance. It is 57 km southeast of Avignon, 59 km north of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

and 616 km as the crow flies from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Access

It is accessed from

Lourmarin Lourmarin (; oc, Lormarin) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Lourmarinois''. Geography Lourmarin is located in the French region of Provence, ...

to the north by county (''départemental'') main road 943. Secondary county road 973 crosses the south of the village on an east–west axis and allows it to connect to

Lauris Lauris (; oc, Làurias) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is located between the Luberon and the Durance river. The town has seen a rapid increase in population in sinc ...

to the west, and runs east to Villelaure and

Pertuis Pertuis (; oc, Pertús) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Located south of the Luberon, this town is also near Aix-en-Provence, a famous town. Pertuis has existed since at ...

. County roads 43, 59, 118 and 139 also pass through the town. A railway runs through the town on an east–west axis across the plains at the south end of the village. This is the line of the Cheval-Blanc in

Relief and Geology

The village is situated on a hill overlooking the valley of the Durance, on the southern

, in mountainous terrain formed during the Early

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

period. Several other hills lie to the east, including Castellar. The alluvial plains of the Durance lie to the south. The town lies on the perimeter of the

Geological Nature Reserve because of the proximity to exceptional fossil sites.

History

Jewish community

Like all places situated along the river Durance, Cadenet had a Jewish community in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. A document of the year 1283 states that this community, together with those of Aix-en-Provence, Saint-Maximin,

Lambesc Lambesc () is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southern France. In 2018, it had a population of 9,799. Lambesc is located in the heart of Provence at the foot of the Côtes mountain ra ...

Istres Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture. Location ...

Trets Trets (; ; Provençal: ''Tretz'') is a ''commune'' (town or township, in English) in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur region in the southeast of France. With a population of over 10,000, it is one of 4 ...

, and

Lanson Champagne Lanson is a Champagne producer that is based in Reims in the Champagne region. Since 2006, it has been owned by the Lanson-BCC group that is headed by Bruno Paillard (who also owns the Bruno Paillard champagne house). History Lanson ...

, was permitted to have a synagogue and a cemetery on paying an annual tax of two pounds of

pepper Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

to the

archbishop of Aix The Archdiocese of Aix-en-Provence and Arles (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Aquensis in Gallia et Arelatensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Aix-en-Provence et Arles''; Occitan Provençal: ''Archidiocèsi de Ais de Provença e Arle'' or ''Archidioucès ...

. In 1385 a remarkable lawsuit arose in

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

, relating to an alleged marriage. The plaintiff was Maestro Duran of Cadenet. In order to be revenged on Meirona, daughter of En Salves Cassin of Arles, who had refused him, Duran declared that he had married her in the presence of two witnesses, Vidal Abraham of Bourrin and Bonfilh or Bonfils Crégud. These witnesses were later convicted of

perjury Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...

. The case was taken in turn before the

rabbinical Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...

colleges of Arles, Nîmes, Montpellier, and Perpignan, and in the last instance, upon the demand of Don Salemias Nasi of Valence, was submitted to R.

Isaac ben Sheshet Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet (or Barfat) (1326–1408) ( he, יצחק בן ששת) was a Spanish Talmudic authority, also known by his acronym, Rivash (). He was born at Valencia and settled early in life at Barcelona, where he studied at the scho ...

, who pronounced severe judgment against Duran and his fellow-conspirators, and bitterly reproached the community of Arles that it had not done its utmost to prevent such a scandal from becoming public. A Jew, Mosson of Cadenet by name, lived at

Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; la, Carpentoracte) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. ...

in 1404; and two others, Salvet of Cadenet and Vidalon of Cadenet, were sheriffs of that community in 1460.

Twin towns

Cadenet is twinned with: *

Arcole Arcole (pronounced ), historically also known as Arcola, is a ''comune'' with 5,274 inhabitants in the province of Verona. It is known as the site of the Battle of the Bridge of Arcole. History Between 15–17 November 1796, the Battle of Arcol ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

* Varvari-Myrtia,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

Natives

Natives include the Orientalist composer Félicien-César David, the carpenter and Jacobin Joseph Sec, and Saint Elzéar of Sabran, Baron of Ansouis and Count of Ariano.

References

{{Authority control Communes of Vaucluse