Calvisson (; Provençal: ''Cauviçon'') is a commune in the

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;department in the Occitanie

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 southern

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 lies between

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, the Cevennes and the

Camargue The Camargue (, also , , ; ) is a coastal region in southern France located south of the city of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône river delta. The eastern arm is called the Grand Rhône; the western is the ''P ...

and has a strong

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

history.

Geography

Calvisson is a commune in

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

. It is in the northern foothills of the Vaunage, a fertile valley surrounded by a rim of limestone hills rising to 200 m. The most prominent hill is the Rock of Gachone, which was the site of an important

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

, or a fortified town, under the Romans. The natural vegetation is classic

garrigue Garrigue or garigue ( ), also known as phrygana ( , 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 France and around the ...

; today the valley is used for vineyards and horticulture. A tiny stream, the Escattes, flows through the villag

Calvisson also includes the hamlets of Sinsans and Bizac.

History

The site is known to have been settled since the

Chalcolithic The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in di ...

transition (4300–3200 BC) In 1060, at the time of the domination of Counts de Toulouse, the name Calvisson appears for the first time. At the time, it was a fortified town surmounted by two towers which covered 2000 m². This fortified town controlled all of the Vaunage. In 1304 King

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. Jure uxoris, By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip&n ...

gave to

Guillaume de Nogaret Guillaume de Nogaret (c. 1260 April 1313) was a French statesman, councilor and keeper of the seal to Philip IV of France. Early life Nogaret was born in Saint-Félix-Lauragais, Haute-Garonne. The family held a small ancestral property o ...

as a fiefdom. From the 16th century, with the beginnings of

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, Calvisson was divided by the wars of religion. The village becomes a centre of

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

ism. In 1681, the Catholic

King 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 longest of any monar ...

, used his troops to re-convert Protestants. On 30 June 1685, being Protestant became illegal in Nîmes. The religion moved underground, the paid pastor was replaced by the lay ''prophet''. The wars slowly destroyed the castle which, by the middle of the 17th century is used as stone quarry. The

Camisards 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 Revocatio ...

operated throughout the mainly protestant Cévennes region which in the early years of the eighteenth century also included the Vaunage and the parts of the

around Aigues Mortes. In 1701, the village was a protestant stronghold which was occupied and then, in 1704, used as a base for the royalist troops in the battle of Nages against the protestant forces of Jean Cavalier the ''prophet'' and military leader. In 1787, the Rock of Gachone which stands above the village is used as triangulation point by Jean-Dominique Cassini for mapping the area.

Population

Sights

* The church of St Saturnin is 12th-century Romanesque and 15th-century Provençal Gothic * the Temple is 19th-century neo-classical. * the Rock of Gachone rises over the village to the west. There were four

windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

s there, three have been partially restored. 30420VoieVerte1542

* The beginning of the 21st century saw the old railway transformed into Voie Verte- that is a metalled cycleway through the Vaunage: from Caveirac, through Calvisson and Congénies to Junas and

Sommières Sommières (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France, located at the border with the Hérault department. It lies from Nîmes, from Montpellier. Geography Sommières is to the south of the garrigues and on the edge of t ...

. This is used by horses, cycles, and pedestrians. The two major roads on the route are avoided by means of bespoke tunnels. * Three of the four windmills for which it was known have been restored.

Events

Bull running happens in Calvisson, according to the Carmargues tradition, where no bull gets hurt. The annual event takes place around 20 July over a period of five days. There are four events, the Abrivado where over ten bulls are run together through the street guided by a group of twelve 'guardians' mounted on white Camargues horses, an

Encierro A running of the bulls (, from the verb ''encerrar'', 'to corral, to enclose'; , literally 'haste, momentum'; 'bulls in the street', or 'bull-runner') is an event that involves running in front of a small group of bulls, typically sixAlexan ...

where one bull is released outside the foyer and finds his own way back to the pen, the Bandido where one bull is run accompanied through the streets, and the Bandido de nuit which is the same thing but after dark. Boys and men run with the bulls and try and separate them from the horses, stop them, and physically turn them away from the horses.

Notable people

* Jean Cavalier *

* Hubert Rouger