Saint-Chamas (in
Provençal Occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...
: ''Sanch Amà s'' in
classical orthography, ''Sant Chamas'' according to Mistralian orthography) is a
commune in the
department of
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...
in the
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...
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 ...
.
Geography
Saint-Chamas is situated on the shore of the
Étang de Berre, 15 km south of
Salon-de-Provence
Salon-de-Provence (, ; or , ), commonly known as Salon, is a commune located about northwest of Marseille in the Bouches-du-Rhône department (Metropolis of Aix-Marseille Provence), region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It ...
and 50 km north-west of
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
, in a part of the region that has not been industrialised. The highest point of the town is ''Le Verdon'' at an altitude of 121 metres.
Population
Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Chamasséens''.
History
Archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
investigation of
rock shelters
A rock shelter (also rockhouse, crepuscular cave, bluff shelter, or abri) is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. In contrast to solutional caves (karst), which are often many miles long or wide, rock shelters are alm ...
has proved that the site of Saint-Chamas was already occupied in the
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
era. During the
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
, the site was used by the
Ligures
The Ligures or Ligurians were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day Northern Italy, north-western Italy, is named. Because of the strong Celts, Celtic influences on their language and culture, they were also known in anti ...
, who constructed an
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 ...
(a fortified village), and then by the
Celts
The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...
. The
Romans built the
Pont Flavien in the 1st century BC, a
triumphal bridge which crosses the
River Touloubre.
[Rough Guide to Provence and the Côte d'Azur, p. 189]
Saint-Chamas owes its name to Sanctus Amantius (
Saint Amans, by tradition the first
bishop of Rodez), in whose honour a chapel was built in the 7th century. The settlement was initially constructed on the ''Baou'', a chalk hill which overlooks the Étang de Berre, a site that was easy to defend and from which the surrounding region could be surveyed. In 1564, the castle was sufficiently comfortable to accommodate the king
Charles IX and the regent
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...
.
The 17th century saw the construction of the modern town. The old village on the ''Baou'', now felt to be too cramped, was abandoned as soon as the new quarters of ''Perthuis'' and ''au Delà '' were built. A town hall was erected and the port laid out. The parish church of Saint-Léger was built between 1660 and 1668, but the
bell tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...
was not finished until 1740. The church now contains the Saint-Anne
reredos
A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images.
The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...
which dates from the sixteenth century. In 1690, construction was initiated by
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 ...
on the royal
black powder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
mill, ''La Poudrerie''; this remained for a long time the town's principal industry until it shut down in 1974.
For several years during the
French Revolution the town was renamed ''Port-Chamas''. The two main quarters, one of which developed around the town hall, the other in proximity to the port, were linked by a tunnel called ''la Goule'' which collapsed in 1863. Today Saint-Chamas has become a residential and tourist town which has preserved its heritage and its appearance of a Provençal village.
See also
*
References
*
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saintchamas
Communes of Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia