Surrounded by fields and vineyards, the Vieux Mas (=Provençal farmhouse), a vast building dating from the 18th century, carries us back in time to the days when the peasants lived their lives to the rhythm of the seasons. A working farm, with its delightful animals, shops for craftsmen (from the sabot maker to the saddler), a country school – everything here sharpens our nostalgia for the “good old days”. Displays and shows complement the visit.

Restored in 2004, this oil mill dates from 1869. An 'à sang' press, turned by donkeys or mules, stands side by side with (amongst others) a mechanical press dating from 1930, the year when electricity was brought to the mill. The mill stopped production in 1955, as a result of the frost which devastated olive trees in the Midi; but, once again, each year, as a symbolic gesture, it produces a small "pressing" of authentic Bellegarde olive oil.

Renowned for its provençal basket making since the 12th century, Vallabrègues still had nearly 450 basketweavers in 1900. The museum houses an impressive collection of objects, both utilitarian and decorative, made from woven withy and reeds. A collection of documentary films recreates for us the lives of the last "banastiés" (= basket weavers) of this village, so dear to Frédéric Mistral

 

Auguste Jacquet museum,
Beaucaire

Located in the castle gardens, the museum contains a very rich collection of archaeological remains dating from paleolithic times to the Middle Ages, such as the remains recently exhumed from the mausoleum on the Ile du Comte (1st century BC), and objects from the excavations in the medieval fortress. There is an exhibition of posters for the Beaucaire Fair, alongside a collection of traditional local crafts.

Oil mill,
Bellegarde

Mirèio

 


History has identified three golden ages for Beaucaire, this jewel set in the heart of Terre d'Argence. Firstly that of the ancient Roman city of Ugernum, which was an important staging post on the Domitian Way linking Italy to the Spanish provinces of the Roman Empire. Next, the Middle Ages, when in 1067, Ugernum became Belcaïre (Belle pierre = fine stone), and a powerful fortress was built on its hill dominating the Rhône. Finally, the 17th and 18th centuries, when the Magdalen Fair, the most important gathering of merchants in the area, was at its peak. The fair attracted distinguished visitors, and produced in a week more profit than the port of Marseilles did in a year. And from this extraordinary prosperity will spring the private houses and prestigious public monuments which make of Beaucaire one of the leading Towns of Art and History.

Vannerie and Handicraft museum, Vallabrègues

Frédéric Mistral (1830 - 1914) was born and died in Maillane, in the Bouches-du-Rhône. He is the best known of the seven poets and writers who founded the Felibrige, a regionalist literary movement, on the 21st of May 1854. He is the author of the long Provençal poem, "Mirèio", in which he extols the forbidden love that existed between Vincent, a "banastié" of Vallabrègues and Mireille, the daughter of a rich farmer of the Crau.Frédéric Mistral was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1904.

Fisrt stanza, in provençal

Cante uno chato de Prouvènço,
Dins lis amour de sa jouvènço,
A travès de la Crau, vers la mar,
dins li bla,
Umble escoulan dóu grand Oumèro,
Iéu la vole segui.
Coume èro
Rèn qu'uno chato de la terro,
En foro de la Crau se n'es gaire parla.”

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Fisrt stanza, in french

“Je chante une jeune fille de Provence,
Dans les amours de sa jeunesse,
A travers la Crau, vers la mer,
dans les blés,
Humble écolier du grand Homère,
Je veux la suivre.
Comme c'était
Seulement une fille de la glèbe,
En dehors de la Crau
il s'en est peu parlé.”

Le Vieux Mas,
Beaucaire

ACTA Cultural Park
Ugernum Forum

The ACTA Park is devoted to antique archaeology. A veritable living museum where you can learn about antiquity through gladiator shows, exhibitions and interactive courses: gladiators and Olympic sports, antique clothing workshop, scents & flavours from antiquity... 

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Office de Tourisme Beaucaire Terre d’Argence - 24, cours Gambetta - 30300 Beaucaire