Provence
Historical,cultural,and governmental region,southeast-coastal France.
Provence was part of Roman Gallia Narbonensis.With the breakdown of the Roman Empire in the late 5th century,it was invaded successively by the Visigoths,Burgundians,and Ostrogoths.It came under the rule of the Franks с 536.During the 13th century it was involved in the Albigensian Crusade.It was united with the French crown in 1481.The language of Provence,Provençal,was important in medieval literature,and Provence's Romanesque architecture was an outstanding cultural achievement of the Middle Ages.The region suffered in the 16th-century Wars of Religion.In 1790,during the French Revolution,it lost its political institutions and was divided into several départements.The historical region of Provence is roughly coextensive with the present-day région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (pop.,1999:4,506,151),which has an area of 12,124 sq mi (31,400 sq km) and its capital at Marseille.
普罗旺斯 Provence
法国东南沿海的历史和文化地区.曾是罗马高卢纳尔榜南西斯的一部分.当罗马帝国在5世纪末期崩溃后,当地连续遭到西哥特人、勃艮地人和东哥特人侵犯.约536年成为法兰克人管辖地.13世纪期间卷入阿尔比派十字军.1481年并入法国,它的语言为普罗旺斯语,在中世纪文学中非常重要,它的罗马式建筑是中世纪的杰出文化成就.16世纪曾遭宗教战争的破坏.1790年法国大革命期间,丧失其行政地位,被划分为几个省.
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Provence is a former Roman province and is now a region of southeastern France,located on the Mediterranean Sea adjacent to France's border with Italy.It is now part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.The traditional region of Provence encompasses the départements of Var,Vaucluse,and Bouches-du-Rhône in addition to parts of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Alpes-Maritimes.
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Provence is bounded by the Alps to the east and the Rhône River to the west,with the Mediterranean Sea providing its southern border.It has an unusually varied physical aspect,with landscapes ranging from fertile plains in the Rhône valley,to mountains in the east (notably Mont Ventoux,the Luberon and the Alpilles) and marshlands in the south (the Camargue).
The Principality of Monaco is nestled between Nice and Italy.Marseille,Aix-en-Provence,Avignon and Arles are other cities of importance in Provence.Marseille is by far the largest city in Provence,and is the chef-lieu (capital city) of both the Bouches-du-Rhône département and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur région.
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The climate of Provence is typically Mediterranean,warm and dry.The Mistral is a strong,cold wind from the north that occurs mostly in the winter and spring .
