Country France Canton Vence Area 13.1 km² | Population (2008) 6,716 Local time Friday 5:02 AM | |
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Intercommunality Communauté d'agglomération de Nice-Côte d'Azur Weather 8°C, Wind NW at 11 km/h, 73% Humidity | ||
La Gaude (Occitan: La Gauda) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.
Contents
Map of 06610 La Gaude, France
History
To the south of the village, a restored Roman stele is close to the Aurelian Way, the Roman road that passed near the present cultural centre.
After the Saracen attacks in the ninth century, the inhabitants of the nearby and higher village of Saint-Jeannet descended to the more fertile and less rugged La Gaude area. "La Gauda" is mentioned in 1075. Soon the village was burned for having converted to the Cathar heresy. When the frontier became the nearby River Var, the village was again destroyed.
The village was affected by the plague in the fifteenth century and abandoned until the late sixteenth century. La Gaude became an independent community in 1599, separating from Saint Jeannet. Looting took place in 1704 and for five days in 1707. In the twentieth century, La Gaude was transformed by the arrival of piped water.
The Provençal writer, Marcel Pagnol, was captivated by the village, writing, "I will be back in a fortnight and will rush to your place to admire your barbaric flowers and drink your civilised wine." (« Je reviendrai dans une quinzaine et je m’élancerai chez vous pour admirer vos fleurs barbares et boire votre vin civilisé. ») He bought a property in the village, the domaine de l'Étoile.
IBM established a research centre in La Gaude in the 1960s.