Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
3. The Anti-pope
When the papacy returned to Rome, French cardinals elected Robert de Genève
as Pope Clement VII, creating a split in the Church until 1417.
4. Petrarch
The Italian Renaissance poet (1304-74), who lived in Avignon, was a critic of
the ostentatious French papacy.
5. Nostradamus
Born in St-Rémy-de-Provence, the scholar (1503- 66) published his book of
prophecies in 1555.
6. Napoleon Bonaparte
Bonaparte landed at Golfe-Juan on 1 March 1815 to regain his empire, only to be
defeated at Waterloo.
7. Louis-Auguste Blanqui
Born in Puget-Théniers in 1805, the socialist was one of the leaders of the re-
volutionary Paris Commune of 1871.
8. Jacques Cousteau
Toulon-based naval officer Cousteau perfected the aqualung in the 1940s, pion-
eering the sport of scuba diving.
9. Antoine de St-Exupery
The aircraft of the French author and pilot vanished in 1944 while on a recon-
naissance flight over Provence.
10. Brigitte Bardot
Sex icon and film star Bardot became the symbol of St-Tropez in the 1960s.
Chapter contents
