Sky Walker

Rather him than me!  No health and safety here ... 

Note the stones on the lower part of the roof. You often see this on a roof in a hill village - we're in La Turbie today.  Normally though on an older roof than this one. Presumably to prevent tiles lifting off in high winds.

Dante in La Turbie

Don't you just love that a verse from Dante's Divine Comedy is engraved on a wall in La Turbie? 

You see this near to the post office - before you enter the Medieval village.  It speaks of the difficulties in accessing the village long ago.  I found this translation:

'Twixt Lerici and Turbia, the most desert,

The most secluded pathway is a stair

Easy and open, if compared with that.'

The tourist office of La Turbie translates it as 'The most solitary and deserted road between Lerici and La Turbie is close to this one with large and easily climbed steps”.

Dante lived from 1265 - 1321 and this was the first literary mention of La Turbie.

The other inscription, just along from Dante's is taken 'from the itinerary of Antonin, that described La Turbie as the “Alp Summa”, where Italy ended and La Gaule commenced.'

Pollution Forbidden!

We're in the village of La Turbie today - way above Monaco.

Let's hope the dog can read and if not, that his owner takes due note.  Normally small plastic bags are readily available from dispensers in the street although many dog owners carry doggy poop bags in small bone-shaped containers fixed to the dog's collar. 

I wonder why someone has written 'I love dollars' on the sign ...

The Trophy of the Alpes - the Restoration

A moody view of the Trophy des Alpes taken from La Turbie. You can see how it dominates the landscape.

In his Naturalis Historia, Pliny the Elder (23 - 79 A.D.) refers to the existence of the monument. However, from the end of Antiquity onwards, the Trophy of the Alpes receded from memory as its stones were used to build the village and fortifications. The ruined monument attracted travellers and Romantic artists enamoured of picturesque sites and scholars wondered whether the ruins at La Turbie could be clearly identified as the Trophy of the Alpes. After a great deal of research, it was.

During the Middle Ages, the site was converted into a fortress. Then, in 1705, Louis IV ordered the Trophy blown up but the 17-century-old construction largely withstood his efforts. The durable stone was pillaged to build the Saint-Michel church (see smaller photo) as well as other constructions.

Just before the Conté de Nice and Savoy were reattached to Fance in 1860, the Savoy royal family ordered restoration to begin. They didn't achieve much but at least what they did prevented further deterioration. Casimir, a local archeologist began excavations in 1900. The archeologist Formigé became interested and, in the 1920's, the wealthy American Dr Edward Tuck employed architects to restore the Trophy, including replacing stones where they deduced they belonged. The restoration was completed in 1934.

The Trophy of the Alpes - the Emperor Augustus

In 13 BC the Emperor Augustus planned a new coast road into Gaul (Provence). This road became the Via Julia Augustus (or Via Julia, later to merge into the Aurelian Way that was built 150 years later.) Augustus used this route to conquer the Ligurians and bring the Pax Romana to Provence. La Turbie was a strategic site as it was the highest point on the long Roman road into Gaul and marked the gateway between Italy and the Roman conquests of Gaul.

The map (click to enlarge) shows the peoples of the Alpes vanquished by Augustus during the second half of the first century BC and indicates the main Roman roads.

Interestingly, you can now visit 9 sites in a Roman itinerary (via Julia Augusta) starting here, at the Trophy in La Turbie - of which the caves of Balzi Rossi and the Hanbury Botanical gardens in Italy (just across the border) are visited - and finishing in Ventimiglia.

This model of the Emperor Augustus stands in the small museum adjoining the Trophy - a copy of the one in the Vatican in Rome.

The Trophy of the Alpes - the Goats

The Trophy of the Alpes celebrates the Emperor Augustus' conquest of the Gaulish Tribes between 25 and 14 B.C. From the Col de la Turbie, the highest point of the Julia Way (via Julia Augustus) the monument overlooks the sea from San Remo to Esterel and asserts the power and protection of Rome.

The walk throught the ground surrounding the Trophy affords some fabulous views over Monaco, amid box trees, rockroses, lavenders, bilberries and cypresses.

There are even a couple of friendly goats...

The Trophy of the Alpes - How it was Built

The museum, alongside the Trophy, is excellent and you'll find this model of the monument as it was when it was built in the first century B.C.

It is made of interlocking substructures, which make the structure very solid. A solid internal cylinder with foundations composed of a ring of radiating pillars supports an upper collanade which was very tall. Around this the quadrilateral base walls were structured by large enveloping stonework walls and other internal walls made of small stonework which formed cavities filled with packing material. This was filled with blockwork and mortar, the layers of which are still visible, showing how work progressed on the site.

They sure knew how to build...those Romans.

The Trophy of the Alpes

Anyone visiting Monaco and this part of the French Riviera can't have missed seeing the 'Trophy of the Alpes' at La Turbie, which overhangs the Principality of Monaco.

It was a 50 metres high monument, built in the 1st century BC to the power of Rome and the glory of the Emperor Augustus. It's now 35 metres high and you can visit the Trophy, indeed climb many steps - and we will.

Do come back tomorrow...




(the photos were taken last September)

The Most Beautiful Garage Door...

Isn't this old door in La Turbie wonderful? If you open it, you'll find a car inside. It's simply a garage.

There has to be a history to this door and one day I'll find out...

The Stained Glass Shop

Soon after entering the old village of La Turbie, you'll find this pretty old shop, Magie de Vitrail, where you'll find all sorts of stained glass.

Bringing home the Bacon

Bringing home the bacon...or is it the lamb?

Street scene in La Turbie.

Colour in La Turbie

'Man needs colour to live; it's just as necessary an element as fire and water.' ~ Fernand Leger

La Turbie - Reflections

Reflections in a restaurant window in La Turbie.

La Turbie - Street Sign

Don't you love the carved street names...

La Turbie - Ancient Gateway

A 13th century entrance and gateway in La Turbie - charming, apart from the graffiti.

La Turbie - Climbing the Stairs

Ever wondered why the old people live so long in France? Maybe it's the good food and red wine. I think it's all the walking up steep stairs to their homes. Imagine living here and knowing that everything you need has to be lugged up and further up.

It would keep your heart well exercised, wouldn't it?

La Turbie - Pick up after your Dog!

This poster, fixed to an old gate, says 'Me too, I love clean sidewalks when I'm rolling.' You'll see many posters like this in towns and villages, encouraging people to clean up after their dogs. Quite right!

La Turbie - the Walk

'When I walk with you I feel as if I had a flower in my buttonhole.'

~ William Makepeace Thackeray

La Turbie - Take a length of rope...

Take a rope and an old log and you have a great game. This hidden corner in La Turbie has been transformed into a children's play area.

An improvement on video games, wouldn't you say?

La Turbie - Sun and Shade

It's incredibly hot in Monaco at the moment. In fact, the French Riviera is under a 'canicule' (heatwave) watch - which means everyone needs to check on any elderly neighbour at least twice a day to make sure they are alright and importantly drinking enough fluids. There is also a speed restriction on the autoroutes which is an attempt to lessen air pollution.

And so let's leave the coast and drive up to La Turbie, slightly cooler and certainly less humid.