Montélimar (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Montelaimar'' ; la, Acumum) is a town in the

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

department in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

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 north

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 bo ...

, Southeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is the second-largest city in the department after Valence. In 2018, the commune had a population of 39,415; its

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

had a population of 57,372.

History

The site where the city of Montélimar stands today has been inhabited since the Celtic era. It was reconstructed during the Roman reign, including a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

, aqueducts,

thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout ...

and a forum. The Adhémar family reigned over the city in the Middle Ages and built a castle (

Château des Adhémar The Château des Adhémar is a castle, later converted to a Renaissance style château, in the French town of Montélimar in the Drôme département. It is located on a hill in the centre of the town. History Its origins are found in the ...

) which dominates the city silhouette even today.

Demographics

Personalities

* French navigator

Louis de Freycinet Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet (7 August 1779 – 18 August 1841) was a French Navy officer. He circumnavigated the earth, and in 1811 published the first map to show a full outline of the coastline of Australia. Biography He was born at ...

and Émile Loubet, President of France from 1899 till 1906, who served also as mayor of Montélimar. *

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

racing driver Charles Pic, brother and fellow racing driver Arthur Pic and motorcycle racer Sylvain Guintoli. * Encyclopédiste

Antoine Penchenier Antoine Penchenier, or Penchinier, (? , Montélimar – 1761, Donzère), was an 18th-century French physician. Biography Born in Montélimar, he studied medicine in Montpellier where he held a practise. Penchenier wrote the article ''Goutte'' ...

(died in 1761) at an unknown date. * Physician and Encyclopédiste Jean-Joseph Menuret (1739–1815) was born in Montélimar *

Louis Deschamps (painter) Louis Henri Deschamps was a French painter born on 25 May 1846 in Montélimar, ( Drome); died 8 August 1902 in Montélimar. Biography He was born on 25 May 1846 from Sebastien Deschamps and Hanriette Chames and gifted with natural artistic talent ...

(1846 - 1902) was born in Montélimar * Singer, writer, actress, TV host and fashion designer

Marianne James Marianne James (born 18 February 1962) is a French singer, writer, actress, TV host and fashion designer. She has co-presented the French coverage of the ''Eurovision Song Contest''. Early life Born in Montélimar, Marianne Gandolfi grew up ...

was born in Montélimar in 1962. * Michèle Rivasi, elected member of the European Parliament since 2009, was born in Montélimar in 9-2-1953.

Economy

The local nougat is one of the 13 desserts of Provence and highly appreciated throughout the country. Montelimar nougat is mentioned in the opening lines of the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

' "

Savoy Truffle "Savoy Truffle" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 album ''The Beatles'' (also known as "the White Album"). The song was written by George Harrison and inspired by his friend Eric Clapton's fondness for chocolate. The ...

" from '' The White Album''. Travellers used to buy ''nougat de Montélimar'' on their way to the south of France (or when returning) as the city is next to the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

and to the primary route N7. Since the construction of the A7 autoroute, many nougat

factories A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

have been forced to close as tourists no longer stop in Montélimar but bypass it instead.

Climate

Montélimar has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(''Cfa'') according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

International relations

Montélimar is twinned with: *

Mollet del Vallès Mollet del Vallès () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Vallès Oriental in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the valley of the Besòs river, and is an important communications hub from Barcelona towards the north: the AP-7 Motorwa ...

, Spain *

Nabeul Nabeul (; ar, نابل ,Tamazight: ⵏⴰⴱⴻⵍ), is a coastal town located in northeastern Tunisia, on the south coast of the Cape Bon peninsula and surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea on both sides. It is the first seaside resort in Tunisi ...

, Tunisia *

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

, United States *

Ravensburg Ravensburg ( Swabian: ''Raveschburg'') is a city in Upper Swabia in Southern Germany, capital of the district of Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg. Ravensburg was first mentioned in 1088. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City and an imp ...

, Germany *

Rhondda Cynon Taf Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff (Welsh: ''Taf'') and Ely valleys, plus a number of towns and vill ...