Ramatuelle

Ramatuelle is a common French, located in the department of the Var of the area Provence-Alp-Coast of Azure.

Geography

Located in Provence in the department of the VAr, the village of Ramatuelle rises on a buttress of the hill of Mulched at an altitude of approximately 130 meters. It dominates bay of Pampelonne and the agricultural plain.

History

The territory of Ramatuelle was very early coveted by the man and knew a relatively animated history.

Excavations undertaken in several places indeed made it possible to find many vestiges proving a human presence as of the Préhistoire.

Prehistory

The presence of the man is very old and would go back to the Paléolithique (approximately 30.000 years before our era); cut flints were found in particular with the course Taillat.

It is especially around 5.000 years before our era that the traces of the human occupations multiplied. On the site of the Bolsters, many fragments of Céramiques were found on a Neolithic station , brook of Bouis, just as several round flint tools, (braces with transverse edge, arrow with the trapezoidal edge, grinds oval out of local gneiss…).

On the site of the course Taillat, points of Flint, polished axes, fragments of glasses as well as a tomb collective (Mégalithique), could be identified.

On the site of the district of Marres, Menhir S were announced just as on the plate of Pascati. Obsidian knives, volcanic glass coming from Sardinia or the Wind Islands also prove that, several millenia before the Greek and the Etrusques, of the prehistoric sailors furrowed already the the Mediterranean.

The Bronze Age

With the Bronze Age (1800-1900 before J-C), navigation was used as bond between the various human establishments along the littoral. A habitat of this age occupied the end of the course Lardier.

The Gallo-Roman time

Roman colonization leaves, very early, of important vestiges. Many underwater wrecks containing of the wine Amphore S were discovered with broad of the Cape Camarat, out of bay of Briande or around the course Taillat. Roman potteries were found close to the old station of the customs, with bronze nails. There exist also large Roman farms behind of the sea, in particular with the district of the Bolsters where were found at last century of the brick tombs, the remainders of a Aqueduc as well as tiles, potteries and medals of the Early empire.

The Arab period

During the 10th century, Sarrasins from Spain were probably established in the area. But, to date, no archaeological trace of this passage was indexed.

The legend tells that the inhabitants of Ramatuelle faced Buckwheats which wanted to seize their village. Not having more ammunition, the inhabitants made roll on the attackers of the blocks of rocks and hives of bees threw to them. In spite of the fights of the inhabitants to push back these foreign people, Buckwheats succeeded in being installed on the grounds of Ramatuelle. Certain historians think that the name of Ramatuelle could result from the Arab expression “Ramat' Ullah” which means “divine Providence” or “Rahmat Allah”, the grace of God.

It is Guillaume Ier the Liberator who released Provence of Buckwheats into 973 and was the founder of the dynasty of the Counts de Provence.

The medieval period

A first mound castrale existed with the district of Oumède, with the locality " City-vielli" between Xe and the 12th century.

It is probably the first village of Ramatuelle.

In addition, it is in " Charters of the abbey of St Victor" , published in 1055, that it is made mention for the first time of Ramatuelle.

Old village, one knows the ramparts and the turns of guet, of which one was used for to make the bell-tower of the church.

Second half of the 16th century was marked by the wars of religion between Protestants and catholics. Ramatuelle at that time served of place-strong with the troops of the Count de Carcès (" Ligue") who occupied Low Provence to prevent the accession with the throne of the Protestant king Henri IV. The inhabitants still knew plunderings, rapes… The village, besieged by the troops of the militia of Saint-Tropez come to deliver it " ligueurs" , again undergoes destruction and the great wall did not resist this operation. Today, the door sarrasine is the only element which was preserved by it, with the bell-tower which is an old tower, and a length of wall which flanks the church in the East.

Modern history

During the Second world war, the village was marked by the occupation of the territory by the enemy troops, when these last crossed the " line of démarcation". In November 1942, first Italian soldiers, " alpini" invested the village and were installed on strategic points located on the heights (mills of Mulched, hills of the Collar of Collebasse…). Resistance was organized with the " brigade of Maures" which several Ramatuellois belonged. After the rendering of the Italy, the Germans took the changing of the Italians. Their first troops of occupation were established not only on the heights of the hills, but also on all the littoral where they established many fulcrums connected to an established headquarters with the Charavel castle. Thus German required of the Mayor that 80 men be mobilized to clear of undergrowth, deforest the superb pine forests of the back beach of Pampelonne and to shave the dunes so as to facilitate the shootings of artillery or machine-guns from the point of view of a future unloading. The inhabitants of the campaigns of the littoral fringe of Pinet to the course Lardier had to evacuate their residences and to take refuge in the village.

At the time of the unloading of the allied forces on August 15th 1944, vine stocks, shrubs, hedges of reeds were destroyed by bulldozers so as to arrange in the back beach of Pampelonne (left Southern) a landing strip allowing a connection with the bases installed in Corsica and North Africa. It will take several years to reconstitute the vineyard. It is young lieutenant André Murphy under the orders of the Patch general who, at the time of the allied unloading of August 15th, 1944, pressed the first with his troop the French soil, which was worth with this heroic American the legion of honor in 1948. The liberation movement thus began on the beach from Pampelonne. After the “Release”, it took many years for déminer the beach, to reconstitute the vineyards, to rehabilitate the roads. The littoral landscape, such as it arises today, does not remain about it less radically not transformed by the History.

Source: Official Internet site of the commune of Ramatuelle

Administration

Demography

Places and monuments

Ramatuelle has beautiful monuments of which the Notre-Dame church (of the 17th century), in a country style of Provence, a vault Holy-Anne (16th century) and a Sarrasine door, 18th century - the Arab influence is very present at Ramatuelle -, and a residence seigneuriale in the center of the village. The lanes and the houses of the downtown area are very beautiful and very picturesque.

The commune count many beaches of which that, known, of Pampelone. The site of the Cape Camarat and the Cape Taillat, protected by the Conservatoire from the Littoral for the richness from its flora is also on the commune of Ramatuelle.

contemporary Inheritance

Vacation village of Merlier, road of the headlight of Camarat (1959-1965) by the architects of the Workshop of Montrouge in collaboration with Louis Arretche: 35 houses of holiday.

Personalities related to the commune

Gerard Philippe, buried in Ramatuelle
Jean-Claude Brialy, organizer of the Festival of Ramatuelle, had a property with Ramatuelle
Michel Berger, deceased has Ramatuelle

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