One of the things that catches your eye when you drive along the A9 past Béziers and before reaching Narbona is a service centre named Charles Trenet in honour of the fantastic singer born in this same city. The service centre contains an exhibition evoking his life and work, as well as sculptures by Pascale and Thierry Delorme. After visiting Narbona and on the way to Carcassona leaving the A9 for a while, it is essential to talk about this Narbona artist who is the author of thousands of beautiful songs, including La Mer.
Joseph de Ca'th Lon, Claire Fontaine and The Grandma have decided that Charles Trenet will be their soundtrack between Narbona and Carcassona and, truly, they have chosen an incomparable company.
Louis Charles Augustin Georges Trenet (18 May 1913-19 February 2001) was a renowned Occitan singer-songwriter who composed both the music and the lyrics for nearly 1,000 songs over a career that lasted more than 60 years. These songs include Boum! (1938), La Mer (1946) and Nationale 7 (1955). Trenet is also noted for his work with musicians Michel Emer and Léo Chauliac, with whom he recorded Y'a d'la joie (1938) for the first and La Romance de Paris (1941) and Douce France (1947) for the latter. He was awarded an Honorary Molière Award in 2000.
Trenet was born in Avenue Charles Trenet, Narbona, Occitània, the son of Françoise Louise Constance (Caussat) and Lucien Etienne Paul Trenet. When he was age seven, his parents divorced, and he was sent to boarding school in Béziers, but he returned home just a few months later, suffering from typhoid fever. It was during his convalescence at home that he developed his artistic talents, such as performing music, painting and sculpting. His mother remarried, and he lived with her and his stepfather, writer Benno Vigny.
In 1922, Trenet moved to Perpinyà, this time as a day pupil. André Fons-Godail, the Catalan Renoir and a friend of the family, took him for excursions with painting. His poetry is said to have the painter's eye for detail and colour. Many of his songs refer to his surroundings such as places near Narbona, the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean coast.
He passed his baccalauréat with high marks in 1927. After leaving school, he left for Berlin, where he studied art, and later, he also briefly studied at art schools in France. When Trenet first arrived in Paris in the 1930s, he worked in a movie studio as a props handler and assistant, and later joined the artists in the Montparnasse neighbourhood. His admiration of the surrealist poet and Catholic mystic Max Jacob (1876-1944) and his love of jazz were two factors that influenced Trenet's songs.
In November 2000, the Narbona house in which Trenet was born, which had become 13 Avenue Charles Trenet, was turned into a small museum.Visitors could view souvenirs from Trenet's childhood and family life -especially those belonging to his mother, who had spent most of her life in the house- as well as original drafts of the songs that made his career.
Trenet died three months later, on 19 February 2001.
Trenet's best-known songs are Boum!, La Mer, Y'a d'la joie, Que reste-t-il de nos amours?, Ménilmontant and Douce France. His catalog of songs is enormous, numbering close to 1,000.
Visiting Narbona is experiencing Occitan history at its best.
It is a must go up 170 steps to the Gilles Aycelin, keep and see the Tour Saint-Martial, GothicNarbona Cathedral, its Saint-Pasteur cloister and the Archbishop's Palace.
Walking through streets full of history, between palaces and Gothicarchitecture,savouring the excellent local cuisine and resting by the canal while reading some beautiful troubadour poems is an indescribable pleasure that Josephde Ca'th Lon, Claire Fontaine and TheGrandma did not want to miss.
Narbona is an amazing city with a fascinating history and warm and welcoming people who will make your stay an unforgettable memory.
Narbona is a commune and subprefecture in Occitània. It is located about 15 km from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was historically a prosperous port city. From the 14th century onwards, it declined following a change in the course of the river Aude. While it is the largest commune in Aude, the capital of the Aude department is the smaller commune of Carcassonne.
The etymology of the town's original name, Narbo, is lost in antiquity, and it may have referred to a hillfort from the Iron Age close to the location of the current settlement or its occupants. The earliest known record of the area comes from the Ancient Greek historian and geographer Hecataeus of Miletus (5th century BCE), who identified it as a Celtic harbour and marketplace at that time, and called its inhabitants Ναρβαῖοι.
The ancient city of Narbona was established in Gaul by the Roman Republic in 118 BCE, as Colonia Narbo Martius, colloquially Narbo, and made into the capital of the newly established Roman province of GalliaTransalpina (modern-day southeastern France). It was located on the ViaDomitia, the first Roman road in Gaul, built at the time of the foundation of the colony, and connecting Roma to Tarraco. Geographically, Narbona was therefore located at a very important crossroads because it was situated where the ViaDomitia connected to the Via Aquitania, which led toward the Atlantic through the cities of Tolosa and Burdigala.
Politically, Narbona gained importance as a competitor to Massilia (today Marselha). Julius Caesar settled veterans from his 10th Legion there and attempted to develop its port while Marselha was supporting Pompey. Among the products of Narbona, its rosemary-flower honey was famous among Romans. Later, the Roman province of Gallia Transalpina was renamed Gallia Narbonensis after the city, which became its capital. Seat of a powerful administration, the city enjoyed economic and architectural expansion.
According to Hydatius, in 462 AD the city was handed over to the Visigoths by a local military leader in exchange for support; as a result Roman rule ended in medieval France. It was subsequently the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom of Septimania, the only territory from Gaul to fend off the attacks of the Christian Franks after the Battle of Vouille (507).
In 531, the Frankish king Childebert I invaded Septimania and defeated the Visigothic king, Amalaric, near Narbona and occupied the city. However, after Childebert's continued invasion to Catalonia failed, Amalaric's successor Theudis was able to reclaim the rich province of Septimania, including Narbona, to the Visigothic Kingdom.
The region of Septimania was the last unconquered province of the Visigothic Kingdom. The incursion into Septimania was motivated by the need to secure their territorial gains in Iberia. Arab and Berber Muslim forces began to campaign in Septimania in 719.
The region was invaded by the Andalusian Muslims in 719, renamed as Arbūnah and turned into a military base for future operations by the Andalusian military commanders. It passed briefly to the Emirate of Córdoba, which had been expanding from the south during the same century, before its subsequent conquest by the Christian Franks in 759, who by the end of the 9th century renamed it as Gothia or Marca Gothica. After the Frankish conquest of Narbona in 759, the Muslim Arabs and Berbers were defeated by the Christian Franks and retreated to their Andalusian heartland after forty years of occupation, and the Carolingian king Pepin the Short came up reinforced.
The Carolingian king Pepin the Short chased the Muslim Arabs and Berbers away from Septimania and conquered Narbona in 759, after which the city became part of the Frankish Viscounty of Narbona. Septimania became a march of the Carolingian Empire and then West Francia down to the 13th century, though it was culturally and politically autonomous from the northern France-based central royal government. The region was under the influence of the people from the count territories of Tolosa, Provence, and ancient County of Barcelona. It was part of the wider cultural and linguistic region known as Occitània. This area was finally brought under effective control of the French kings in the early 13th century as a result of the Albigensian Crusade, after which it was assigned governors.
Narbona became a major center of Jewish learning in Western Europe. In the 12th century, the court of Ermengarde of Narbona (r. 1134–1192) presided over one of the cultural centres where the spirit of courtly love was developed. In the 11th and 12th centuries, Narbona was home to an important Jewish exegetical school, which played a pivotal role in the growth and development of the Zarphatic (Judæo-French) and Shuadit (Judæo-Provençal) languages in medieval France.
Jews had settled in Narbona from about the 5th century CE, with a community that numbered about 2,000 people in the 12th century. At this time, Narbona was frequently mentioned in medieval Talmudic works in connection with its scholars. One source, Abraham ibn Daud of Toledo, gives them an importance similar to the Jewish exilarchs of Babylon. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the community went through a series of ups and downs before settling into extended decline.
Per solatz revelhar, Que s'es trop enformitz, E per pretz, qu'es faiditz Acolhir e tornar, Me cudei trebalhar. To wake delight once more, That's been too long asleep, And worth that's exiled deep To gather and restore: These thoughts I've laboured for.
Today, the day is cloudy and the temperature ranges between 11 and 12 degrees. Joseph de Ca'th Lon, ClaireFontaine and The Grandma are travelling to Narbona, the next city they will visit on their way back to Barcelona, and they are doing so by crossing Occitania on the A9,the highway that runs along what in Roman times was the road that connected Tarraco with Rome through GalliaNarbonensis, the ViaDomitia.
The Via Domitia was the first Roman road built in Gaul, to link Roma and Tarraco through Gallia Narbonensis, across what is now Southern France.The route that the Romans regularized and paved was ancient when they set out to survey it, and traces the mythic route travelled by Heracles.
The construction of the road was commissioned by Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, whose name it bore, following the defeat of the Allobroges and Averni by himself and Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus in 122 BCE.
Domitius also established a fortified garrison at Narbo (modern Narbonne) on the coast, near Hispania, to guard construction of the road. It soon developed into a full Roman colony Colonia Narbo Martius. The lands on the western part of the route, beyond the River Rhône had been under the control of the Averni who, according to Strabo, had stretched their control to Narbo and the Pyrenees.
Crossing the Alps by the easiest passage, the Col de Montgenèvre (1850 m), the Via Domitia followed the valley of the Durance, crossed the Rhône at Beaucaire passed through Nîmes (Nemausus) then followed the coastal plain along the Gulf of Lion. At Narbona, it met the Via Aquitania (which led toward the Atlantic Ocean through Tolosa and Bordeaux). Thus Narbona was a crucial strategic crossroads of the Via Domitia and the Via Aquitania, and it was an accessible, but easily defensible port at that time.
This cusp point in the Roman westwards expansion and ensuing supply, communication and fortification was a very important asset, and was treated as such. In between the cities that it linked, the Via Domitia was provided with a series of mansiones at distances of a day's journey for a loaded cart, at which shelter, provender and fresh horses could be obtained for travellers on official business.
The route as it was in Late Antiquity is represented in schematic fashion on the Tabula Peutingeriana.
Visiting Montpelhièr is getting to know part of our history. The city was a very important cultural centre during the Middle Ages and its language and architecture are witnesses to this.
Occitan is one of the many languages spoken in Europe that do not have the political status it deserves. It is not the only one and this fact reminds us that only from respect for minoritized cultures (which are not minorities) can we build a common European project in which we all feel part.
Lo temps s'es perdut
Dins los camins de l'èr Ont, ausèl sens còs, Una cara de dròlla Pren sa volada.
Una perla negra dins sos uèlhs S'escapa cap al cèl d'Icara.
Es filha del neient Que li daissèt en eritatge Un tròç de nuèch sens luna Sus las labras.
Jamai tocarà tèrra Jamai tutejarà la pèira Nimai los arbres E l'aiga que los enjaura.
Qu'a esposada una quimèra Que se perdèt dins lo vent.
Time has disappeared Into the air-tracks Where a young girl's face, Bird without body, Takes flight.
From her eyes a black pearl Escapes to Icaria sky.
She's daughter to oblivion That bequeathed her A morsel of moonless night, Left on her lips.
She'll never touch earth She'll never tease the stone Nor the trees Nor the waters that confound them.
Joseph de De Ca'th Lon, ClaireFontaine and TheGrandma are visiting Montpelhièr, the beautiful Occitan city where Jaume I was born.
For The Grandma, visiting Montpelhièr is very special because of all the memories she has of living there while studying the Occitan poets for her Literature degree. In addition to learning Occitan, a very important language also in Catalunya where it is an official language, TheGrandma shared wonderful moments with her Occitan colleagues and friends and visiting them again is always something very special and emotional.
Montpelhièr is a city in Occitània near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region, is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. Montpelhièr is the third-largest city near the Mediterranean coast, behind Marselha and Nice, and the seventh-largest city of France overall.
In the Middle Ages, Montpelhièr was an important city of the Crown of Aragon (and was the birthplace of Jaume I), and then of Mallorca, before its sale to France in 1349. Established in 1220, the University of Montpelhièr is one of the oldest universities in the world and has the oldest medical school still in operation, with notable alumni such as Francesco Petrarca, Nostradamus and FrançoisRabelais. Above the medieval city, the ancient citadel of Montpelhièr is a stronghold built in the seventeenth century by Louis XIII.
Since the 1990s, Montpelhièr has experienced one of the strongest economic and demographic growths in the country. Its living environment, with one of Europe's largest pedestrian areas, along with its rich cultural life and Mediterranean climate, explains the enthusiasm for the city, which is nicknamed the Gifted. It is ranked as a Sufficiency city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
In the Early Middle Ages, the nearby episcopal town of Maguelone was the major settlement in the area but raids by pirates encouraged settlement a little farther inland. In 737, Charles Martel destroyed Maguelone.
Montpelhièr, first mentioned in a document of 985, was founded under a local feudal dynasty, the Guilhem, who combined two hamlets and built a castle and walls around the united settlement. The name is from medieval Latin mons pisleri, Woad Mountain referring to the woad (Latin pastellus, pestellus) used for dyeing locally. There is no real mountain in the area, with the mons referring to a pile of stones.
In 986, the Lords of Montpelhièr begin with William I of Montpelhièr. In the 10th century the town consisted of two portions, Montpelhièr and Montpelliéret.
In 1160, the law school was active.
The two surviving towers of the city walls, the Tour des Pins and the Tour de la Babotte, were built later, around the year 1200. Montpelhièr came to prominence in the 12th century -as a trading centre, with trading links across the Mediterranean world, and a rich Jewish cultural life that flourished within traditions of tolerance of Muslims, Jews and Cathars- and later of its Protestants. William VIII of Montpelhièr gave freedom for all to teach medicine in Montpelhièr in 1180. The city's faculties of law and medicine were established in 1220 by Cardinal Conrad of Urach, legate of Pope Honorius III; the medical faculty has, over the centuries, been one of the major centres for the teaching of medicine in Europe. This era marked the high point of Montpelhièr'sprominence. The city became a possession of the Kings of Aragon in 1204 by the marriage of Pere II of Aragon with Marie of Montpelhièr, who was given the city and its dependencies as part of her dowry.
Montpelhièr gained a charter in 1204 when Pere and Marie confirmed the city's traditional freedoms and granted the city the right to choose twelve governing consuls annually. Under the Kings of Aragon, Montpelhièr became a very important city, a major economic centre and the primary centre for the spice trade in the Kingdom of France. It was the second or third most important city of France at that time, with some 40,000 inhabitants before the Black Death. Montpelhièr remained a possession of the crown of Aragon until it passed to James III of Mallorca, who sold the city to the French king Philip VI in 1349, to raise funds for his ongoing struggle with Pere IV of Aragon.
From the middle of the 14th century until the French Revolution (1789), Montpelhièr was part of the province of Languedoc.
In the 14th century, Pope Urban VIII gave Montpelhièr a new monastery dedicated to Saint Peter, noteworthy for the very unusual porch of its chapel, supported by two high, somewhat rocket-like towers. With its importance steadily increasing, the city finally gained a bishop, who moved from Maguelone in 1536, and the huge monastery chapel became a cathedral.
In 1432, Jacques Cœur established himself in the city and it became an important economic centre, until 1481 when Marseilles overshadowed it in this role.
At the time of the Reformation in the 16th century, many of the inhabitants of Montpelhièr became Protestants (or Huguenots as they were known in France) and the city became a stronghold of Protestant resistance to the Catholic French crown. Montpelhièr was among the most important of the 66 villes de sûreté ('cities of protection' or 'protected cities') that the Edict of Nantes granted to the Huguenots. The city's political institutions and the university were all handed over to the Huguenots.
Increasing tension with Paris led to King Louis XIII besieging the city in 1622. The city surrendered after a two-month siege. Peace terms called for the dismantling of the city's fortifications and the building of the royal Citadel of Montpelhièr to secure the city for the government. The university and consulate were taken over by the Catholic party. Even before the Edict of Alès in 1629, Protestant rule was dead and the ville de sûreté was no more.
Louis XIV made Montpelhièr capital of Bas Languedoc, and the town started to embellish itself, by building the Promenade du Peyrou, the Esplanade and a large number of houses in the historic centre.
After the French Revolution, the city became the capital of the much smaller Department of Hérault.
During the 19th century the city thrived on the wine culture that it was able to produce due to the abundance of sun throughout the year. The wine consumption in France allowed Montpelhièr's citizens to become very wealthy until in the 1890s the phylloxera induced fungal disease had spread amongst the vineyards and the people were no longer able to grow the grapes needed for wine.
During the repression of January and February 1894, the police conducted raids targeting the anarchists living there, without much success.
After this the city grew because it welcomed French repatriates from Algeria and other parts of northern Africa after Algeria's independence from France. In the 21st century Montpelhièr is between France's number seventh and eighth largest city. The city had another influx in population more recently, largely due to the student population, who make up about one-fourth of Montpelhièr'spopulation. The school of medicine kickstarted the city's thriving university culture, though many other universities have been well established there. The coastal city also benefited in the past 40 years from major construction programs such as Antigone, Port Marianne and Odysseum districts.
A mièja-votz cal parlar de l'amor. A bramals de la tèrra raubada, a ponhs sarrats amb nòstre pòple, a dents copadas, a contra-jorn, de la lutz que de còps endevinhi.
In a half-voice we need to talk about love. To cries of the robbed land, hand in hand with our people, to teeth cut, to counter-day, of the light I sometimes guess.
The sun has shone again in the sky of Marselha after a few days of torrential rain. Storm Ingrid has said goodbye to us,but storm Joseph is expected to arrive in the next few hours.
The other Joseph (de Ca'th Lon) has visited the Musée duSavon de Marseille with ClaireFontaine and TheGrandma today. Marselha has many elements that make it famous and prestigious around the world and one of them is its soap, manufactured since the 14th century. After visiting the museum,they will taste a fantastic bouillabaisse, a daube, some supions and buy some oreillettes of Provence for the trip they will take this same afternoon to Montpelhièr.
They have been wonderful days in Marselha, a city that The Grandma loves very much and to which she hopes to return soon. Now, they will visit another of the cities loved by her, a city that has been beating for centuries and that keeps Occitan culture alive.
Savon de Marseille or Marseille soapis a traditional hard soap made from vegetable oils that has been produced around Marseille, Provence, for about 600 years.
The first documented soapmaker was recorded from the city in about 1370. By 1688, Louis XIV introduced regulations in the Edict of Colbert limiting the use of the name Savon de Marseille to olive oil based soaps. The law has since been amended to allow other vegetable oils to be used.
By 1913, production had reached 180,000 tons. Thus, in 1924, there were 122 soapmaking companies in the Marseille and Salon-de-Provence areas combined. However as of 2023, there were only four remaining, all part of an association called Union des Professionnels du Savon de Marseille (UPSM).
Traditionally, the soap is made by mixing sea water from the Mediterranean Sea, olive oil, and the alkaline ash from sea plants together in a large cauldron (usually making about 8 tons). This mixture is then heated for several days while being stirred continuously. The mixture is allowed to sit until ready and is then poured into a mold and allowed to set slightly. While still soft it is cut into bars, stamped, and left to completely harden. The whole process can take fourteen days to a month.
Today there are two main types of Marseille soap: the original greenish-hued variety made with olive oil, and a white one made of palm and coconut oil mixture. Originally sold only in 5 kg and 20 kg blocks, they usually come in 300 g and 600 g squares nowadays. Though smaller and larger sizes are available, from 15 g guest soap up to a 10 kg self-slicing block.
Marseille soap is frequently used for domestic cleaning, including hand-washing of delicate garments such as those made of wool or silk. In its liquid form it is commonly sold as a hand soap. It can also be used in agriculture as a pesticide.
In Marseilles they make half the toilet soap we consume in America, but the Marseillaise only have a vague theoretical idea of its use, which they have obtained from books of travel.
After a day of torrential rain, clouds have taken over the sky and Joseph de Ca'thLon, Claire Fontaine and The Grandma have decided to enjoy one of the most beautiful neighbourhoods in Marselha, LePanier.
Le Panier is a middle-class neighbourhood famous for its bohemian atmosphere and its artists, from artisans to street artists, a neighbourhood where you can walk and enjoy local culture and cuisine, and where you can discover street wonders.
Tomorrow, the three friends will visit the Musée du Savon de Marseille and say goodbye to this beautiful city, heading towards Montpelhièr.
Le Panier is not only Marseille's oldest district, it's also its most authentic, poetic and popular!
Overlooking the Vieux Port and the rest of the city, you'll fall under the spell of its narrow streets, colorful shutters and typical Mediterranean-style boutiques. It is a symbolic Marseille landmark.
Perched high above the city, this village in the heart of Marseille has its own social and cultural mix, a diversity that has been built up by the arrival of Corsican, Italian and Asian migrants… That's what gives Le Panier its soul! The district is rapidly developing around seafaring and craft trades. Le Panier is a real community, with a warm atmosphere that only the locals themselves can experience.
The name Le Panier comes from the method used by the filles de joie of the Logis du Panier inn to collect money from men who wanted to visit. They would lower a basket using a rope, and then raise the money.
Today, Le Panier is a popular district for tourists, thanks to its authenticity, its new craft stores and the small cafés that are springing up on every street corner.
In fact, policies to renovate and rehabilitate the Panier's cultural venues have led to an unprecedented gentrification movement. While this has led to an increase in the number of tourists, it has also led to a massive influx of outsiders into the real estate market. As a result, housing prices have risen in a district that remains, above all, a working-class neighbourhood.
Here, the street is a gallery. Some artists and artisans even exhibit in the streets, as on the Cours Julien. However, street art in the Panier is subtle, hidden and occasional, and doesn't cover every wall in the district. So it's a good idea to get lost in the meanders of the steep alleyways to observe these veritable masterpieces!
Claire Fontaine and Joseph de Ca'th Lon have just arrived in Marselha where The Grandma awaits them. Both have arrived later than expected due to air problems caused by storm Ingrid which is also affecting French lands, in this case those of the west, and Catalunya.
All three will spend a few days visiting Provence and Occitania and, today, in Marselha, they plan to attend a football cup match.
Talking about football in Marselha, is obviously talking about their local team, Olympique de Marseille, but above all, talking about the figure of one of the most spectacular footballers of all time: ÉricCantona.
Éric Daniel Pierre Cantona (born 24 May 1966) is a French former professional footballer who is currently an actor.
In his football career, Cantona was a physically strong and technically skilful player with both creative and goalscoring ability. Mostly utilised as a deep-lying forward, he was also capable of playing as a centre-forward, as a dedicated striker, as an attacking midfielder, or as a central midfielder. Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004.
Cantona played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United, before ending his career at Manchester United, with whom he won four Premier League titles in five years, including two League and FA Cup Doubles. He wore the iconic number 7 shirt at Manchester United and was known for turning up his collar. He is affectionately nicknamed King Eric by Manchester United fans. Cantona won league championships in England and France in seven of his last eight full seasons as a professional, and at least one trophy in eight of his last nine. At international level, he played for the France national team and scored 20 goals in 45 matches. He appeared at UEFA Euro 1992 and, in preparation for Euro 96, was appointed captain in 1994.
In 2003, Cantona was voted as Manchester United's greatest-ever player by Inside United magazine. He was an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002. At the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards in 2003, he was voted the Overseas Player of the Decade. Cantona was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021. Charismatic and outspoken, Cantona'sachievements in football were set against fallings out with coaches and team-mates, and a poor disciplinary record throughout his career, including a 1995 conviction for an assault on an abusive spectator, for which he received a two-week prison sentence, reduced to community service on appeal, and an eight-month suspension from football - preventing him from participating at Euro 96.
In 1997, Cantona unexpectedly announced his retirement from football just before his 31st birthday. He then moved into a career in cinema, including roles in the films Elizabeth (1998), French Film (2008) and The Killer (2024). In 2010, he debuted as a stage actor in Face au Paradis, a play directed by his wife, Rachida Brakni. Cantona took an interest in the sport of beach soccer; as player-manager of the France national beach soccer team, he won the 2005 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
Éric Daniel Pierre Cantona was born in Marseille on 24 May 1966, the son of dressmaker Éléonore Raurich, and nurse and painter Albert Cantona. His mother was Catalan and came from Barcelona, while his paternal grandfather was Sardinian and had emigrated to Marselha from Ozieri. While fighting the armies of General Franco in the Spanish Civil War in 1938, Cantona's maternal grandfather, Pere Raurich, suffered a serious injury to his liver and had to retreat to France for medical treatment with his wife. They stayed in Saint-Priest, Ardèche, before settling in Marselha.
Cantona began his football career with SO Caillolais, his local team and one that had produced such talent as Roger Jouve and had players such as Jean Tigana and Christophe Galtier within its ranks.
Cantona was given his full international debut against West Germany in August 1987 by national team manager Henri Michel.
Regarded by pundits as one of the best players of his generation, one of the greatest Premier League players of all time, and as one of France's and Manchester United's greatest players ever, Cantona was nicknamed by Manchester United fans as King Eric. A large, physically strong, hard-working and tenacious player, Cantona was a forward who combined technical skill and creativity with power and goalscoring ability. Despite his height and imposing physique, he was a skilful player on the ball, due to his long torso, which gave him a lower centre of gravity than most players of his stature, and who possessed good technique and ball control, as well as an excellent first touch.
He was renowned for his vision, passing, intelligence and playmaking skills, in addition to his eye for goal and powerful and accurate striking ability, which often saw him score from spectacular strikes and volleys. As such, he often played in a free, creative role between the midfield and forward lines throughout his career, acting as a deep-lying forward behind the main striker, due to his tendency to drop deep into midfield to retrieve the ball and orchestrate attacking plays, as well as his ability both to score goals and provide assists for team-mates. However, Cantona was also capable of playing as a centre-forward, due to his ability to hold-up the ball with his back to goal, although this was not his favoured position, as an out–and–out striker, as an attacking midfielder, or even as a central midfielder on occasion. He was also an accurate penalty and free kick taker.
Due to his height, physique, positional sense and heading accuracy, he was strong in the air. He was known for being both mentally and physically tough, and was highly regarded for his strong, commanding and charismatic personality, as well as his leadership qualities and bravery, which helped to alleviate pressure from his team-mates. Cantona was known for turning up his collar during matches.
Cantona was a hard-working player, who also stood out for his defensive contribution off the ball, as well as his ability to start attacking plays after winning back possession. He also drew praise in the media for his discipline and dedication in training. Despite his talent and ability, he was also notorious for his aggression, confrontational behaviour, volatile temper and lack of discipline on the pitch, as well as his tendency to commit hard challenges, which made him a highly controversial figure in world football.
Today, The Grandma has been walking through the streets of Marselha and after devouring a fantastic local breakfast, she has decided to visit the City'sHistoryMuseum to learn a little more about the city's Greek past and the links of Massalia as a Hellenic colony with other colonies such as Empúries.
Phocaea or Phokaia, in Ancient Greek Φώκαια, Phókaia; modern-day Foça in Turkey, was an ancient Ionian Greekcity on the western coast of Anatolia.
Greek colonists from Phocaea foundedthe colony of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, in Provence) in 600 BC, Emporion (modern-day Empúries, in Catalonia) in 575 BC and Elea (modern-day Velia, in Campania) in 540 BC.
Massalia, in Greek Μασσαλία, was an ancient Greek colony (apoikia) on the Mediterranean coast, east of the Rhône. Settled by the Ionians from Phocaea in 600 BC, this apoikia grew up rapidly, and became the centre of Greek trade in western Mediterranean, branching out and creating many outposts on the coasts of what is now Spain, the south of France including Corsica island, and northwestern Italy (Liguria).
Massalia persisted as an independent colony until the Roman campaign in Gaul in the 1st century BC. The ruins of Massalia still exist in the contemporary city of Marseille, which is considered the oldest city of France and one of Europe's oldest continuously inhabited settlements.
Massalia was established ca. 600 BC by Ionian Greek settlers from Phocaea, in Western Anatolia. After the capture of Phocaea by the Persians in 545 BC, a new wave of settlers fled towards the colony. A creation myth telling the meeting between the Greeks and the local population is given by Aristotle and Pompeius Trogus.
After the middle of the 6th century BC, Massalia became an important trading post of the western Mediterranean area. It grew into creating colonies of its own on the sea coast of Gallia Narbonensis during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, including Agathe (late 5th-early 4th c. BC), Olbia (ca. 325), Tauroentium (early 3rd c.), Antipolis and Nikaia (ca. mid-3rd c.).
Massalia was known in ancient times for its explorers: Euthymenes travelled to the west African coast in the late 6th century BC, and Pytheas explorednorthwestern Europe in the late 4th century BC.
The colony remained a faithful ally of Rome during all of the Punic Wars (264-146 BC). The retreat of Carthage from the Iberian coast after its defeat in the Second Punic War (218-201) gave Massalia the dominancy over the Gulf of Lion, and the fall of Carthage in 146 probably led to the intensification of trade between the Greek colony and the Celtiberians.
Archaeological evidence, in the form of amphora fragments, indicate that the Greeks were producing wine in the region (Provence) soon after they settled. By the time the Romans reached the area in 125 BC, the wine produced there had a reputation across the Mediterranean for high quality.
Massalia initially chose neutrality during the Civil War between Caesar and the Senate, but sided with Caesar's opponents after the arrival of Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. The city was besieged in 49 BC and eventually had to surrender to Caesar's army. Massalia lost most of its inland territory in the aftermath of this defeat.
During the Roman and Late Antique periods, the city, then known as Massilia in Latin, remained a major center of maritime trade. It became a civitas within the Roman Empire at the latest ca. 300 AD.
The Greeks used the proverbs Ἐκ Μασσαλίας ἥκεις (you are coming out of Massalia) and Ἐς Μασσαλίαν πλεύσειας (you might sail to Massalia) in reference to those living an effeminate and soft life, apparently because the men of Massalia were wearing fancy long perfumed robes and tying their hair up, which other Greeks interpreted as signs of disgrace.
The Romans on the other hand had a more positive view of the city as a bastion of Greek civilisation in barbarian lands, and as a loyal ally of Rome.
A genetic study conducted in 2011 found that 4% of the inhabitants of Provence belong to the haplogroup E-V13 lineage, which is especially frequent among Phocaeans (19%), and that 17% of the Y-chromosomes in Provence may be attributed to Greek colonization. According to the authors, these results suggest a Greek male elite-dominant input into the Iron Age Provence population.
Empúries was an ancient Greek city on the Mediterranean coast of Catalonia. The city Ἐμπόριον, in Greek Ἐμπόριον, (Emporion meaning trading place) was founded in 575 BC by Greeks from Phocaea. The invasion of Gaul from Iberia by Hannibal the Carthaginian general in 218 BC, prompted the Romans to occupy the city, in Latin Emporiae, thus initiating the Roman conquest of Hispania. In the Early Middle Ages, the city's exposed coastal position left it open to marauders and it was abandoned.
Empúries is located within the Catalan comarca of Alt Empordà on the Costa Brava. The ruins are midway between the town of L'Escala and the tiny village of Sant Martí d'Empúries.
The vast number of the Greek colonies, their wide-spread diffusion
over all parts of the Mediterranean, which thus became a kind of Grecian lake, and their rapid growth in wealth, power, and intelligence, afford the most striking proofs of the greatness
of this wonderful people. Civil dissensions and a redundant population
The Grandma is already in Marselha enjoying the culture and history of this special and fascinating Provençal city.
Being in Marselha is being at home. Getting lost in the streets of Vieux Port, closing your eyes and when you open them feeling the Mediterranean Sea so close amidst majestic architecture that recalls Barcelona, Palma, Napoli, València, Alghero, Catania, Malta, Corti or any Greek island, because Mediterraneanness is the common link of all these peoples who, speaking different languages, really have a common culture represented in this sea that one day helped the Greeks to sail further and colonize new lands.
One of these conquering peoples was the Phocaeans, who settled in what we know today as Provençal Marselha. Centuries later, Marselha continues to be a very important city, an indispensable port enclave and a city that has made migrations the basis of its current society.
The Grandma is very much in love with this Marselha that makes her feel at home and where she keeps some of her best friends and her best life experiences.
Marseille, in Provençal Occitan Marselha, is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, near the mouth of the Rhône river.
Marselha is the second-most populous city proper in France, after Paris, over a municipal territory of 241 km2. Together with its suburbs and exurbs, the Marselha metropolitan area, which extends over 3,972 km2. The cities of Marselha, Aix-en-Provence, and 90 suburban municipalities have formed since 2016 the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, an indirectly elected metropolitan authority now in charge of wider metropolitan issues.
Founded c. 600 BC by Greek settlers from Phocaea, Marselha is the oldest city in France, as well as one of Europe's oldest continuously inhabited settlements. It was known to the ancient Greeks as Massalia and to Romans as Massilia.
Marselhahas been a trading port since ancient times. In particular, it experienced a considerable commercial boom during the colonial period and especially during the 19th century, becoming a prosperous industrial and trading city. Nowadays the Old Port still lies at the heart of the city, where the manufacture of Marselha soap began some six centuries ago. Overlooking the port is the Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde or Bonne-mère for the people of Marselha, a Romano-Byzantine church and the symbol of the city.
Inherited from this past, the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille (GPMM) and the maritime economy are major poles of regional and national activity and Marselha remains the first French port, the second Mediterranean port and the fifth European port. Since its origins, Marselha's openness to the Mediterranean Sea has made it a cosmopolitan city marked by cultural and economic exchanges with Southern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. In Europe, the city has the third largest Jewish community after London and Paris.
In the 1990s, the Euroméditerranée project for economic development and urban renewal was launched. New infrastructure projects and renovations were carried out in the 2000s and 2010s: the tramway, the renovation of the Hôtel-Dieu into a luxury hotel, the expansion of the Velodrome Stadium, the CMA CGM Tower, as well as other quayside museums such as the Museum of Civilisations of Europe and the Mediterranean (MuCEM). As a result, Marselha now has the most museums in France after Paris.
The city was named European Capital of Culture in 2013 and European Capital of Sport in 2017. Home of the association football club Olympique de Marseille, one of the most successful and widely supported clubs in France, Marselha has also hosted matches at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2016. It is also home to several higher education institutions in the region, including the University of Aix-Marseille. A resident of Marselha is a Marseillais.
The name Marseille most likely comes from the name Massalia given to the ancient city initially founded by Greeks. Variations of the name include:
-In Latin Massilia, from the Greek Μασσαλία (Massalía), which is the oldest attestation of the name, since the city was founded by Greek settlers around 600 BC, and remained for a long time a Greek-speaking place even after it fell under Roman rule;
-In Occitan (Provençal) Marselha according to the Classical orthographic norm, which may be written Marsiho according to the Mistralian norm, from the Medieval Occitan Marselha or Masselha;
-In French Marseille,
-In English Marseille or Old English Marseilles.
Marselha was founded as the Greek colony of Massalia c. 600 BC, andwaspopulated by Greek settlers from Phocaea (modern Foça, Turkey). It became the preeminent Greek polis in the Hellenized region of southern Gaul.
The city-state sided with the Roman Republic against Carthage during the Second Punic War (218-201 BC), retaining its independence and commercial empire throughout the western Mediterranean even as Rome expanded its empire into Western Europe and North Africa. However, the city lost its independence following the Roman Siege of Massilia in 49 BC, during Caesar's Civil War, in which Massalia sided with the exiled faction at war with Julius Caesar. Afterward, the Gallo-Roman culture was initiated.
The city maintained its position as a premier maritime trading hub even after its capture by the Visigoths in the fifth century AD, although the city went into decline following the sack of AD 739 by the forces of Charles Martel against the Umayyad Arabs. It became part of the County of Provence during the tenth century, although its renewed prosperity was curtailed by the Black Death of the 14th century and a sack of the city by the Crown of Aragon in 1423.
The city's fortunes rebounded with the ambitious building projects of René of Anjou, Count of Provence, who strengthened the city's fortifications during the mid-15th century. During the 16th century, the city hosted a naval fleet with the combined forces of the Franco-Ottoman alliance, which threatened the ports and navies of the Genoese Republic.
Marselha lost a significant portion of its population during the Great Plague of Marselha in 1720, but the population had recovered by mid-century.
In 1792, the city became a focal point of the French Revolution, and though France's national anthem was born in Strasbourg, it was first sung in Paris by volunteers from Marselha, hence the name the crowd gave it: La Marseillaise.
The Industrial Revolution and establishment of the Second French colonial empire during the 19th century allowed for the further expansion of the city, although it was occupied by the German Wehrmacht in November 1942 and subsequently heavily damaged during World War II. The city has since become a major center for immigrant communities from former French colonies in Africa, such as French Algeria.
The Marseille dialect, a variant of the french language influenced by the provençal, is renowned for its colloquial and melodious nature. It is characterized by an exaggerative style and also incorporates influences from Arabic, Italian, and other local dialects. Despite its colorful expressions, the dialect remains predominantly localized to the city of Marseille, with limited use beyond the region.
Marseilles isn't a city for tourists. There's nothing to see. Its beauty can't be photographed. It can only be shared. It's a place where you have to take sides, be passionately for or against. Only then can you see what there is to see. And you realize, too late, that you're in the middle of a tragedy. An ancient tragedy in which the hero is death. In Marseilles, even to lose you have to know how to fight.
Last hours on the island. Last farewells, wishes of good luck and health and, not having left yet, there is already a desire to return.
With Mallorca always in her heart, The Grandma flies to Marselha, where she will meet Joseph de Ca'th Lon and Claire Fontaine next weekend,knowingthatthose of them who have half Catalan and half Mallorcan hearts will always have Mercè and her beach.
Mercè Palma n'és llunyana Sóc lluny dels carrers Lluny dels ametllers I d'aquells carrers que clou la murada Que clou la murada
Mercè Lluny del teu esguard Lluny del teu esguard I del vent tranquil I del vent tranquil De la casa clara De la casa clara
Lluny d'aquells terrats Lluny d'aquells terrats On els gorrions s'estimen i canten I les monges estenen Els pecats del món i la roba blanca I la roba blanca
I un frare balla I un frare balla Arran de teulada Esperant prendre el vol Cap al cel tan blau Cap al cel tan blau Faldilles enlaire Faldilles enlaire
Mercè Taronges i flors Taronges i flors damunt de la taula Les gavines t'acompanyin El lent caminar cap a l'hora baixa
Sempre tornaré A la nostra platja Les ones no em deixen, mumare Allunyar-me'n massa Allunyar-me'n massa
Mercè, Mercè, Mercè Mercè
Mercè Palma is far away I am far from the streets Far from the almond trees And from those streets that close the wall That close the wall
Mercè Far from your gaze Far from your gaze And from the calm wind And from the calm wind From the clear house From the clear house
Far from those rooftops Far from those rooftops Where the sparrows love and sing And the nuns spread The sins of the world and the white clothes And the white clothes
And a monk dances And a monk dances Arrival from the roof Waiting to take flight Towards the sky so blue Towards the sky so blue Skirts in the air Skirts in the air
Mercè Oranges and flowers Oranges and flowers on the table May the seagulls accompany you The slow walk towards sunset
I will always return To our beach The waves they won't let me, my mother Too far away Too far away
Mercè, Mercè, Mercè Mercè
Sempre tornaré A la nostra platja Les ones no em deixen, mumare Allunyar-me'n massa.
I will always return To our beach The waves they won't let me, my mother Too far away.
Al·loteta, robadora, a qui vos compararé? A la flor de la perera o a les roses del roser? A la flor de la perera jo us comparo per blancor i a les roses del roser jo us comparo per l'olor.
Anam allà on anam. Venim d'allà on venim. Entram allà on entram. Sortim d'allà on sortim.
Me n'anava a no sé on i em vaig trobar no sé qui, que em digué no sé què i jo no sé què li vaig dir.
Mal qui fa, mal qui no fa. Mal qui diu, mal qui no diu. Mal qui plora i mal qui riu i, per això, en tot mal hi ha.
Vols que et digui la raó, del mode com has de viure? No has de plorar ni riure ni estar content ni felló.
Muletes, correu, correu, fareu sa palla menuda, que, si la feis grossa i tronxuda, en s'hivern la hi trobareu.
La poesia és traspassar els llindars i consentir habitar entre fosques.
La poesia és un lloc on convivim amb els estels i les arrels reconeixent la igualtat dels nostres destins.
La poesia és la pedra que tiram contra els miralls perquè se'ns esmiqui la forma.
La poesia és una dent contra el ferro, una fulla contra el vent, una flor de cirerer contra la història.
La poesia és un llit on pasturen dos cossos que es devoren els vestits, l'herba i la fruita.
La poesia és un camp de clavells atacat per un exèrcit de tisores.
La poesia és un hortolà sembrant un desig, dormint al costat d'una col, regalant ala dona un coixí de bledes.
Si no fos pes carretó que va darrera, darrera, no hi hauria cap somera que batés un cavalló
Little thief, to whom shall I compare you? To the blossom of the pear tree or to the roses of the rose garden? To the blossom of the pear tree I compare you by your whiteness and to the roses of the rose garden I compare you by your scent.
We go where we go. We come from where we come. We enter where we enter. We leave where we leave.
I was going to I don't know where and I met I don't know who, who told me I don't know what and I don't know what I said to him.
Evil is he who does, evil is he who does not. Evil is he who speaks, evil is he who does not speak. Evil is he who cries and evil is he who laughs and, therefore, in all evil there is.
Do you want me to tell you the reason, for the way you should live?
You should not cry or laugh
nor be happy or sad.
Little mules, run, run, you will make a small straw, which, if you make it thick and thick, in winter you will find it.
Poetry is crossing the thresholds and consenting to live in the dark.
Poetry is a place where we coexist with the stars and the roots recognizing the equality of our destinies.
Poetry is the stone we throw at the mirrors so that our form is shattered.
Poetry is a tooth against iron, a leaf against the wind, a cherry blossom against history.
Poetry is a bed where two bodies graze that devour their clothes, grass and fruit.
Poetry is a field of carnations attacked by an army of scissors.
Poetry is a gardener sowing a wish, sleeping next to a cabbage, giving the woman a pillow of chard.
If it weren't for the heavy cart that goes behind, behind, there wouldn't be a donkey to beat a horse
La poesia és un lloc on convivim amb els estels i les arrels reconeixent la igualtat dels nostres destins.
Poetry is a place where we coexist with the stars and the roots recognizing the equality of our destinies.
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