Ansouis: Ramblings about French nobility and Restaurant La Closerie
I have been a bit slow with the postings on my blog. There is one reason, a good reason I reckon: The weather is so woooonderful!!! Temperatures are in the 28 - 32 C range, a light breeze and brilliant blue sky. Who wants to be indoors blogging?
We have been to the Luberon yesterday visiting friends near Ansouis. They are vignerons (in English: winegrowers) and I will not be reviewing their wines, a promise is a promise. Ansouis is a delightful historic village 22km north of Aix en Provence. Nothing much going on, but great location on a hilltop, historic village houses and the castle of the Sabran family. This clan has been living here since 1178! Can you imagine, 314 years before the discovery of America.
Here is what I found out about the Sabrans: The first fortifications on the hilltop were constructed around 960 by the Counts of Forcalquier, a town 30 km north of Ansouis. In 1178 a certain Raymond de Sabran married the last countess of Forcalquier. The Sabran's fortunes went up and down over the centuries, but somehow they seemed to be able to hold on to their property. Current occupants are the descendants of a certain Foulques de Sabran-Pontevès and his wife Roselyne de Vallombrosa. In 1969 their daughter Gersende married Jacques Duc d'Orléans, the brother of Henri d'Orléans, Comte de Paris and Duc de France, the current head of the house of Orléans, who claim to be the rightful heirs to the crown.
Now you would have thought our friends in Ansouis would know something about the history of the Sabrans. No chance, France is staunchly Republican and nobody really cares much about nobility. Even Gala, compulsory reading at my hairdresser, is pretty cryptic reporting about French nobility, quite unlike in England and Spain. Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité ... ou la mort! I love this country. Todays nobility in France are the Énarques, graduates of ENA (Ecole Nationale d'Administration), the elite school in Strasbourg. ENA was banned from Paris by the last prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin (himself not an Énarque), I guess in order to give its graduates more exposure to the common man. We all miss Raffarin and his "Raffarinades", the sporadic and cryptic speeches from the "Phoenix du Haut Poitou". He had to to tread carefully in Enarque territory and was finally wasted by Chirac. That is he got a nice post in the Senate, the upper house (I guess most French don't know this body exists).
Back to the Château d'Ansouis; it is impressive and in absolute great shape. We arrived rather late in the afternoon and were told in no uncertain terms by a determined middle aged lady that we had to come back tomorrow to make the tour. Some of the rooms can be visited, but only by guided tour. As compensation we had a delightful dinner in one of our favorite restaurants of the Luberon, La Closerie. Tiny place inside, a couple of tables on the sidewalk across the main street of Ansouis (very heavy traffic here - probably less than 3 cars an hour). Innovative Provençal cuisine, friendly easy going setup, I can highly recommend it!
Eve Collins said:
Hi S,
I am not aware that parts of Ansouis are off limits to tourists, only parts of the castle.
I believe the Marquis de Sade’s château is in Lacoste. It is owned by Piere Cardin. But it might very well be that they did the movie in Ansouis, it is better preserved than Lacoste.
Interesting!
Rebecca Shapiro said:
I stayed in a charming little apartment in Ansouis (August 2005) and loved it so much that I’ve booked it again for summer 07. The town is tiny and quiet. The people in the shops are very friendly and not at all put-off by someone who can barely speak their language. A market was set up one day in the parking square but the market in Loumarin was certainly the one that shouldn’t be missed. The chateau was lovely!
Chris Waller said:
Nice to read your blog. I love Ansouis and try to go there at least once a year. And I always spend my last evening at La Closerie. My last meal there was superb - Madame guided us to two excellent bottles of local wine to accompany the meal, after which I strolled back to my gite through the warm evening air of Provence.
Marten W. said:
I now understand that the family differences and unpaid death duties have now led to the Sabran estate including Chateau and properties in Aix, Paris and in the village of Ansouis all going under the hammer this autumn. In fact an auction "au bougis" - candle auction.
After so many years it is naturally the tax man who will preside over the fate of the chateau.
Ron Queheille (Editor) said:
Marten, what a pity - such a long tradition. I was not aware that the candle auction, in French "à la bougie", is still being used. I heard it involves a small candle being lit at the point in the auction process where no one wants to challenge the leading bid. The candle burns for around 30-45 seconds and then goes out. If no new bid is forthcoming, another candle will be lit. If that one goes out and no other bid is forthcoming the sale is closed. Wonderful procedure. Love it. In case you attend the auction let us have your comments.
A said:
Yes, it is all sadly true. The family has vacated the Chateau, however Mr. Geraud Sabran remains mayor of our village. The village is thriving and has been renovated with newly paved streets, reconstructed bridge and a new roadyway to the village by the Vin Cooperative.
S said:
Greetings,
I am enjoying reading your blog. I have wanted to visit Ansouis since reading about an American couple who moved there (”Magic of Provence”). In the book it mentions that the chateau was loaned to a tv station to film a story about the Marquis de Sade’s life, promting friends of the Countess ( ? I believe she has passed on) to make angry calls asking why on earth she would let them film that kind of “dirty” movie there. I believe she was thrilled with the attention!
I thought that I also read that part of the village is off limits to tourists, is this true?
posted on 2006-07-05 at 8:28 am