16 October 2013

The Head of the Dog


The 'Tête du Chien' (head of the dog) that looms over Monaco.  This photo was taken from Fontvieille, near to the Parc Paysager.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've always been confused about this Tete du Chien.
Am I missing something, or does this rock formation not look anything like a dog?
A head, OK, maybe, just because it is round, but no muzzle or ears or anything of any dog I've ever seen.
Unless this is some mixed breed I've never heard of (i.e. a blobface!), why is it called this?

Jilly said...

When you look at the mountain from a distance, the shape is like a dog with a head. You don't see it in close-up as in this photo. However, he Dog's Head was a strategic military site over many turbulent centuries. The Occitan name is Testa promontory camp, or "end of the military camp," which is pronounced like testa can, "head dog." A little imagination can recognize the wave profile of a dog and validate this false etymology.

Jilly said...

I got the above from Wikipedia, so let's hope it's right.

Related Posts with Thumbnails