Èze (; ; ) is a seaside commune in the

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...

department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in Southeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is located on the French Riviera, 8.5 km (5.2 mi) to the northeast of

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionMonaco. In 2018, Èze had 2,225 inhabitants known as ''Ezasques'' (masculine and feminine).

History

The area surrounding Èze was first populated 200 BC as a commune situated near Mount Bastide. The earliest occurrence of the name "Èze" can be found in the maritime books of Antonin as a bay called the St. Laurent of Èze. A hoard of ancient Greek silver phialae dating from the 3rd century BC was found in Èze in the late nineteenth century and is now part of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

's collection. The area was subsequently occupied by not only the Romans but also the

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

, who held the area for approximately 80 years until they were driven out by William of Provence in 973. By 1388, Èze fell under the jurisdiction of the

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

, who built up the town as a fortified stronghold because of its proximity to

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionTurkish troops seized the village under orders from Hayreddin Barbarossa in 1543, and

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

destroyed the walls surrounding the city in 1706 in the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

. Finally in April 1860, Èze was designated as part of France by unanimous decision by the people of Èze. Èze has been described as an "eagle's nest" because of its location on a high cliff above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

on the French

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. It is so high that the light ochre church within (Notre Dame de l’Assomption built in 1764) can be seen from afar. An Egyptian cross inside the church suggests the village's ancient roots, when the Phoenicians erected a temple there to honour the goddess

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

. Traditionally, the territory of the

Principality of Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a semi-enclave borde ...

was considered to begin in the Èze village (outskirts of Nice), running along the Mediterranean coast to

Menton Menton (; in classical norm or in Mistralian norm, , ; ; or depending on the orthography) is a Commune in France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italia ...

, on the present Italian border.

Geography

The commune of Èze is located on the French Riviera, extending from the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

(Èze-sur-Mer) to the hilltop with a medieval village (Èze-Village). Saint-Laurent-d'Èze connects these villages.

Demographics

Tourism

Èze, renowned tourist site on the French Riviera, is famous worldwide for the view of the sea from its hill top. Its Jardin botanique d'Èze is known for its collection of

cacti A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

and succulents, as well as its panoramic views.

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

first visited Èze Village in 1956 and had dinner in the Château de la Chèvre d'Or that was acquired by hotelier Robert Wolf three years before. It was Walt Disney who suggested to Robert Wolf to transform the château into a hotel. And so, Robert Wolf acquired and converted nearby village houses into guest rooms. This innovative expansion helped establish the property as one of the original six stops on Relais & Châteaux's prestigious "Route du Bonheur" in 1954. Old engraving of Eze

The oldest building in the village is the Chapelle de la Sainte Croix and dates back to 1306. Members of the lay order of the White Penitents of Èze, in charge of giving assistance to plague victims, would hold their meetings there. The shape of the bell-turret is an indication that the village once belonged to the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...

. The small

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

village is famous for its beauty and charm. Its many shops, art galleries, hotels and restaurants attract a large number of

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

and

honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds after their wedding to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase in a couple ...

ers. As a result, Èze has become dubbed by some a ''village-musée'', a "museum village", as few residents of local origin live here. From Èze there are gorgeous views of the Mediterranean Sea. Eze-sur-Mer train station

Èze-Village can be reached by train from Nice via the train station Èze-sur-Mer or by bus from Nice. Close to the train station is a bus stop for buses bringing tourists to Èze-Village. The motto of the village is the phrase ''Isis Moriendo Renascor'' (meaning "In death I am Reborn") and its emblem is a phoenix perched on a bone. The local dialect (nearly extinct) is similar to the Monégasque language of the nearby

; it is therefore related to Ligurian, but with some influences from the

Occitan language Occitan (; ), also known by its native speakers as (; ), sometimes also referred to as Provençal, is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Valleys, as well as Spain's Val d'Aran in Catalonia; collectively, ...

. Èze is one of sixteen villages grouped together by

Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur The Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur () is the ''métropole'', an Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunal structure, centred on the Communes of France, city of Nice. It is located in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department, i ...

tourist department as the ''Route des Villages Perchés'' (Route of Perched Villages). The others are: Aspremont, Carros,

Castagniers Castagniers (; ; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Population Tourism Castagniers is one of sixteen villages grouped together by the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur tourist department as the ''Route des ...

Coaraze Coaraze (; ; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Geography Coaraze is a small village in the Nice hinterland, in the valley of the River Paillon. The closest t ...

Colomars Colomars (; Nissart: ''Couloumas''; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes '' département'' in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Inhabitants of Colomars are called ''Colomarsois''. Colomars is a part of the Pay ...

Duranus Duranus (; ; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Population Tourism Duranus is one of sixteen villages grouped together by the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur tourist department as the ''Route des Village ...

Falicon Falicon (; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Population Tourism Falicon is one of sixteen villages grouped together by the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur tourist department as the ''Route des Villages ...

La Gaude La Gaude (; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. History To the south of the village, a restored Roman stele is close to the Aurelian Way, the Roman road that passed near the present cultural centre. ...

Lantosque Lantosque (; Italian language, Italian formerly and Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lantosca'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, regi ...

, Levens,

La Roquette-sur-Var La Roquette-sur-Var (, literally ''La Roquette on Var (river), Var''; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in southeastern France. It is one of sixteen villages grouped together by the M ...

, Saint-Blaise, Saint-Jeannet,

Tourrette-Levens Tourrette-Levens (; ; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Climate Population Tourism Tourrette-Levens is one of sixteen villages grouped together by the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur tourist departmen ...

and

Utelle Utelle (; ; ) is a commune about northeast of Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Geography It is perched on a hill along the Vesubie Gorge not far from the Mercantour National Park. Sights Formerly an agricul ...

References

External links