Fountains of Provence

Someone is relaxing in a courtyard... In inner Provence in summer , nothing better than a fountain to get refreshed and to quench your thirst . These few pictures were all made in a village named Besse sur Issole , but could have been shot in virtually any provencal village as public fountains are part of the traditional landscape there .I love this plane tree they sort of "repaired" with bricks... Besse has 12 fountains scattered across the village . Besse sur Issole is also reknown for having been home to Gaspard de Besse , the "brigand gentillomme" , a sort of Robin Hood highwayman (1757-1787) Fountains in Provence, more than anywhere else, are witnesses of the great strides in modernizing the french provinces in the past centuries . The 3rd republic in the 19th century is the major time for fountains erections as public equipment . This was at the time the sign of progress, like today audacious bridges, highway interchanges ... There are all kinds of fountains, some simple and separated , some built against a house , some with four sides, also some made of cast iron that you operate with a rotative movement . Some reflect the political urges of the time , with odes to the "Republique"engraved on them ... I got lost in the narrow streets to find most of the fountains . Alone, as B. was waiting somewhere in the shadow and the village was sleepy and waiting for the heat to pass .

Here are some of Besse's fountains , a living testimony of the optimism and progress set in motion under the Napoleonian administration when restructuration of water supplies was contemplated . At the time , engineers of the national engineering body "Ponts et Chaussees" dealed not only with road infrastructure , but also with canalizations wich will bring big changes in the daily life of small villages .Local council architects of this era had also a decisive role in some of this new water supply creation .
Stone fountains were a striking progress in a region wich is so dry and hot in summer . It was for all , free , and even considered now , work with very little maintenance costs , wich is far to be true for many of our contemporary progresses ...
Stone fountains were built till the beginning of the 20th century . Then , some new systems appeared , like the small iron cast fountains (put in motion with a rotative movement or a press button) and that were mass produced at the time . Most were either Bayard, or Giraud type .*******

On the fountain you can read "A la Memoire de la Republique Francaise" and "Monument inaugure le 21 septembre 1891 par Mr le Maire M. Souleyet" . Name of the caster/sculptor : L. Gasne .