Saint-Blaise (the Alpes-Maritimes)

Geography

With its recent habitat dispersed in the middle of beautiful and generous Mediterranean vegetation, composed of pines, bay-trees and olive-trees, Saint Blaise is a residential haven of peace of the back country niçois. By far, the village presents a beautiful coloured unit, blotti around its church with bell-tower of red tiles.

However, nothing is used for here to seek an old center: only a fountain, trônant in front of the church, acknowledges its worthy age (1903!). For the remainder, St Blaise is composed only of houses and recent villas, vain small squares and hedges of cypress alternating with a kindergarten or a ground of tennis shoe. Even the town hall is a building new bright burning coal high colors, declining on its frontage of tons ochers, reds and greens.

With of not doubting, the families with children are happy with St Blaise, where quality of life seems incomparable, for little that one has a house with his small garden there!

History

The soil of Saint Blaise has vestiges traditionally allotted to the protohistoric populations indigenous known as ligure. One indeed finds there the traces of two stone enclosures dries, one with the district of the Manor house, the other with the district of Castelet. None of these two structures provided elements convincing making it possible to date them.

To the redistribution of the strongholds by Guillaume the Liberator, following his reconquest of Provence under pretext of drive out Buckwheats into 973 of them, the stronghold of Saint Blaise falls to the Viscounts of Nice. Those yield it about 1075 to the abbey of Pons Saint, at the same time as Saint Martin of the VAr. The abbots of Pons Saint will remain the lords about it, until the secularization of the abbey, in 1792 (the castle was some time occupied by Chabaud, lords of Aspremont, in 1279). In 1262 the commune includes/understands 36 families is approximately 200 people. The abbey of Pons Saint built there even a mill. But two centuries after, an act of September 16th, 1461 indicates that the place of Saint Blaise is uninhabited. Probably following wars and of the epidemics, the site was depopulated. In 1590, Louis Grimaldi de Beuil, former bishop of Vence, is elected abbot of the abbey of Pons Saint. He thus becomes lord of Saint Blaise. He is at the origin of the repopulation of Saint Blaise. Louis Grimaldi knows the area well because his/her Anne sister is the wife of Pierre Lascaris, lord of the Rocket.

At the beginning of the year 1607, after having obtained the authorization of the Saint Sits, it “cuts out” in this territory, about thirty batches or “let us quartons”. Then it determines with which conditions these batches will be conceded in “perpetual long lease” (the usual duration 99 years being judged insufficient to deaden the expenses of setting in state, the duration was fixed at perpetuity). The Grimaldi abbot thus “invented” the allotment, it proceeded to the division of the ground, it established a schedule of conditions and it made publicity of it, because this advertisement was posted in Nice and in all the close villages and of the opinions were made in pulpit. The parish of Saint Blaise was created in 1777.

Administration

Demography

Places and monuments

THE MILL MUSEUM For all information contact the Town hall with 04.93.79.72 .93. They give you the keys for the visit. If not, this stage belongs to the circuit “the Road of the Olive-trees” organized by tourist association. It is in edge of the road at the entry of the village. The Mill-museum of the XVIIIe century, génois type with a bucket wheel. Restored very well in 2000 to become a witness of the past, it offers its framework to artistic exposures.

RUINS OF THE CASTLE In top of the hill of Castello the ruins of the castle seigneurial builds by the abbots of the Abbey of Saint-Pons, at the 11th century

CHURCH The church Saint-Blaise of 1953, sheltering two oils on fabrics: " The Virgin with the rosary " (17th century) and " The Saint Healer " 18th century

The Workshop of Jean-Pierre AUGIER Sculptor with Saint-Antoine-of-Siga, mythical and splendid place in the middle of the secular olive-trees. Visits on go. Permanent exposure to the " House of Portal " in Levens. The imposing and imposing bridge on the road of Levens.

Personalities related to the commune

Quentin RENAUDO, founder of the Association of the audionautes and trade-union activist reside at Saint-Blaise.

See too

Common of the Alpes-Maritimes

External bonds

Official site of Saint-Blaise
Saint-Blaise on the site of the national geographical Institute
Saint-Blaise on the site of INSEE
Saint-Blaise on the site of Quid
Localization of Saint-Blaise on a chart of France and communes bordering
Plane on Saint-Blaise on Mapquest

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