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 .
