Secret Provence

For those who manage to stray from the beaten paths, Provence is full of surprising features and curious sights that will amaze residents as well as visitors who thought they knew all there is to know about this region. A statue of a pregnant Virgin Mary, an astronomical observatory in a former nuclear missile silo, a hotel room in a tree or a gypsy caravan, primitive Provençal artists, the mark of Christ's knee, a fountain that flows with wine, a caiman dedicated to the Virgin Mary, a church in a theatre, an erotic mediaeval bas relief, a countess who returned to life, a Provençal Villa Médicis, a false volcano at La Roquebrussane, a "sheep bridge" at Arles, a rain-making saint, an alchemist's garden, a magic palindrome at Oppède ... Provence is not limited to postcard clichés about fields of lavender or picturesque villages where pastis-drinking inhabitants pass the time playing pétanque.