L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

The village of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, with the river in the foreground

Coat of arms
L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

Coordinates: 43°55′12″N 5°03′18″E / 43.9199°N 5.0549°E / 43.9199; 5.0549Coordinates: 43°55′12″N 5°03′18″E / 43.9199°N 5.0549°E / 43.9199; 5.0549
Country France
Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department Vaucluse
Arrondissement Avignon
Canton L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
Intercommunality Pays des Sorgues et des Monts de Vaucluse
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) Pierre Gonzalvez (UMP)
Area1 44.57 km2 (17.21 sq mi)
Population (2006)2 18,510
 • Density 420/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code 84054 / 84800
Elevation 52–246 m (171–807 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (French pronunciation: ​[lil syʁ (la) ˈsɔʁɡ]; Occitan: L'Illa de Sòrga [ˈlilɔ de ˈsɔʁɡɔ] or L'Illa de Venissa [ˈlilɔ de veˈnisɔ]) is a town and commune on the Sorgue river in southeastern France. Politically, the commune is in the arrondissement of Avignon within the département of Vaucluse and the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.

The small town is famous for its many antique shops and hosts antique markets most Sundays. It has many waterside cafés and restaurants, all within walking distance of each other. Its many attractive water wheels throughout the town are still in working order. Keith Floyd, the British TV chef and bon viveur established a restaurant there during a lengthy sojourn in France.

L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is twinned with the towns of Penicuik in the UK, and Anagni in Italy.

History

One of the several water wheels in the town

Originally known as "Insula", the town officially adopted the name of "L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue" on 18 August 1890, taking the latter part of its name from the river Sorgue, to which it owed much. As early as the 12th century, the river served defensively as a moat around ramparts which surrounded the town until 1795. The river also served as a source of food and industry: fishing and artisan mills for oil, wheat, silk, paper, woolenry, rugs and dyeing. A busy commerce developed until there were two annual fairs and two weekly markets. The current Sunday open-air market originated on 9 November 1596.

Twins cities

United Kingdom Penicuik (Great Britain)
Italy Anagni (Italy)

Places to see

See also

References

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.
    1. ↑ http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/tourism/isle-sur-la-sorgue/index.html#.VS_QAPnF8qs
    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 2/16/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.