The Alpilles ( French : chaîne des Alpilles [ʃɛːn dez‿alpij] , lit. ' Chain of the Little Alps ' ) is a small range of low mountains in Provence , southern France , located about 20 km (12 mi) south of Avignon .
12-583: The range is an extension of the much larger Luberon range. Although it is not high – some 498 m (1,634 ft) at its highest point – the Alpilles range stands out impressively, as it rises abruptly from the Rhône valley and from the very flat alluvial plain of Crau . The range is about 25 km long by about 8 to 10 km wide, running in an east–west direction between the Rhône and Durance rivers. The landscape of
24-590: A cave was used 8000 years ago. The Parc Naturel Régional des Alpilles was created on January 30, 2007. It covers the territory of 16 communes. The area is also under the protection of the Natura 2000 Environmental Protection Plan of the European Union. The Alpilles were immortalized in art by Vincent van Gogh , who painted many images of the Alpilles' landscapes during his time in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence on
36-475: A massive influx of tourists during the warm season. It is a favourite destination for French high society and British and American visitors because of the pleasant and picturesque towns and villages, comfortable way of life, agricultural wealth, historical and cultural associations, as well as hiking trails. Samuel Beckett notably lived in Cave Bonelly, a vineyard near to Roussillon , during World War II . In
48-518: A number of towns and villages as well as agricultural land; the northern part is marked by the Calavon , while the southern part is characterised by the Durance . The Luberon is often advertised under the name Lubéron (with an acute accent on top of the "e"); some dictionaries justify that the two spellings are interchangeable. The total number of inhabitants varies greatly between winter and summer, due to
60-544: Is a massif in central Provence in Southern France , part of the French Prealps . It has a maximum elevation of 1,256 metres (4,121 ft) and an area of about 600 square kilometres (230 sq mi). It is composed of three mountain ranges (from west to east): Lesser Luberon ( Petit Luberon ), Greater Luberon ( Grand Luberon ) and Eastern Luberon ( Luberon oriental ). The valleys north and south of them contain
72-450: The 1,500 different species of plants, there are 700 species and sub-species of higher plants and 200 species of lichens. Rich fossil deposits are also preserved here, documenting for example ancient species related to songbirds , as well as an ancestral pelican . The Force de frappe or French strategic nuclear arsenal used to be located on the Plateau d'Albion before being dismantled in
84-512: The Alpilles is one of arid limestone peaks separated by dry valleys. The Chaîne des Alpilles is part of the territory of 15 communes : Aureille , Les Baux-de-Provence , Eygalières , Eyguières , Fontvieille , Mas-Blanc-des-Alpilles , Maussane-les-Alpilles , Mouriès , Paradou , Orgon , Saint-Étienne-du-Grès , Saint-Martin-de-Crau , Saint-Rémy-de-Provence , Sénas , Tarascon . The lower slopes are planted with olive and almond trees. Kermes oaks and pines also grow there. Much of
96-650: The last two decades the Luberon has become known in the English-speaking world especially through a series of books by British author Peter Mayle chronicling his life as an expatriate settled in the Luberon village of Ménerbes . These are titled A Year in Provence , Toujours Provence and Encore Provence . Another of Mayle's books, a novel set in the Luberon, was made into a film called A Good Year (2006) directed by Ridley Scott , starring Russell Crowe and filmed in
108-584: The late 1980s. Now, the underground site where the missile controls were located is a public multidisciplinary laboratory of the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis , the Low Noise Underground Laboratory (LSBB) of Rustrel , Pays d'Apt. 43°47′46″N 5°13′26″E / 43.79611°N 5.22389°E / 43.79611; 5.22389 Calavon The Calavon ( French pronunciation: [kalavɔ̃] ; also called le Coulon )
120-551: The north side of the mountains. One of the paintings was given by van Gogh to his friend Eugène Boch . Alphonse Daudet 's 1885 novel Tartarin sur les Alpes , which is a sequel to the 1872 Tartarin de Tarascon , takes place in the Alpilles. 43°45′00″N 4°50′00″E / 43.75000°N 4.83333°E / 43.75000; 4.83333 Luberon The Luberon ( French pronunciation: [lyb(ə)ʁɔ̃] or [lybeʁɔ̃] ; Provençal : Leberon ( classical norm ) or Leberoun ( Mistralian norm ) )
132-474: The range is bare rock or stony ground covered with scrub and maquis . The highest parts of the range are a nature reserve inhabited by a number of rare species, including Bonelli's eagle , the Egyptian vulture and eagle owl . Some of these species were introduced in the Alpilles in the 1980s . Some protohistorical settlements have been found in the Alpilles. In the very old village of Les Baux de Provence ,
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#1732851934936144-488: The region. Luberon is particularly rich in biological diversity. There are known to be around 1,500 species of plants, accounting for 30% of the flora and fauna in France, 17,000 species and sub-species of insects with almost 2,300 species of Lepidoptera, or nearly 40% of species living in France, 341 species and subspecies of vertebrate wildlife, 135 species of birds and 21 species of bats or 70% of species present in France. Among
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