- Mougins
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Mougins
Fontmerle Pond 
MouginsAdministration Country France Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Department Alpes-Maritimes Arrondissement Grasse Canton Mougins Mayor Richard Galy
(2008–2014)Statistics Elevation 32–269 m (105–883 ft) Land area1 25.64 km2 (9.90 sq mi) Population2 19,703 (2008) - Density 768 /km2 (1,990 /sq mi) INSEE/Postal code 06085/ 06250 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. Coordinates: 43°36′03″N 6°59′44″E / 43.600833°N 6.995556°E
Mougins (pronounced: [mu.ʒæ̃]) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.
It is located on the heights of Cannes, in the district of Grasse. Mougins is a 15-minute drive from Cannes. The village is surrounded by forests, such as the Valmasque forest. In the village there are pines, olives, and Cyprus trees.
Contents
History
In modern times, Mougins has been frequented and inhabited by many artists and celebrities, including Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Fernand Léger, Francis Picabia, Man Ray, Arman, Yves Klein, César Baldaccini, Paul Éluard, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Winston Churchill, Catherine Deneuve, Édith Piaf and Jacques Brel, to name but a few. Pablo Picasso spent the last 12 years of his life living in Mougins (1961–1973), where he died. He lived in a 'mas' (farmhouse) at Notre-Dame-de-Vie, which is a small hilltop just beside the old village of Mougins and next to the 12th-century chapel of the same name. Picasso's studio was in the old village in a building that is now the tourist office, while the studio of Fernand Léger was above what is now the village wine shop, next to the rear of the Mougins Museum of Classical Art (MMoCA).
Mougins has a strong culinary history with such great chefs as Roger Vergé and Alain Ducasse having managed restaurants in the village. Both were synonymous with the restaurant L'Amandier, which is situated in the heart of the old village. This restaurant still exists today and is housed in an important ancient building, as during the Middle Ages this was the court house of the Monks of Saint Honorat, before becoming an almond mill in the 18th/19th centuries. Denis Fetisson, who received the Jacquart Trophy for the Rising Star in Gastronomy in 2006, now manages L'Amandier and is also the manager and head chef at La Place de Mougins (previously Le Feu Follet, regularly frequented by Picasso) which is another important restaurant in the heart of the old village. Fetisson moved to Mougins in April 2010 having just been the head chef at the two-Michelin Star restaurant, Le Cheval Blanc, in Courchevel just prior. Like Ducasse, Fetisson worked at L'Amandier in his early career before returning to Mougins again in 2010.
Mougins hosts the annual 'International Gastronomy Festival of Mougins', or 'Les Étoiles de Mougins', an international gastronomic event taking place every September in the village.
Given its close proximity to Cannes, Mougins is also often the tourist destination for Hollywood stars during the Cannes Film Festival. Dame Elizabeth Taylor hosted the 'amfAR' AIDS Charity dinner for the Hollywood elite for almost 10 years until 2008.
The hilltop of Mougins had been occupied since the pre-Roman period. Ancient Ligurian tribes who inhabited the coastal area between Provence and Tuscany, were eventually absorbed into the spread of the Roman Empire and then became part of an official Ligurian state that was created by Emperor Augustus (X Regio). The Ligurian area withstood several invasions during the Byzantine period, before the City of Genoa took firm control over the Ligurian region and dominated it between the 11th and 15th centuries. Much of the centre of the 'old' village dates back to this period.
In the 11th century the Count of Antibes gave the Mougins hillside to the Monks of Saint Honorat (from the nearby Îles de Lerins just off the coast of Cannes) who continued to administer the village until the French Revolution. During this period, Mougins was a fortified village surrounded by ramparts and parts of the medieval city wall still exist as well as one of the three original ancient gate towers (Porte Sarrazine). During the 18th century War of the Austrian Succession, the village was plundered by the Austro-Sardinian armies and damaged by fire. Following this, some of the ramparts were deconstructed and several new little streets of early 19th century houses were built.
Population
Historical population of Mougins 1793 1800 1806 1821 1831 1836 1841 1846 1851 1856 1330 1500 1538 1724 1962 1883 1918 1828 1831 1805 1861 1866 1872 1876 1881 1886 1891 1896 1901 1906 1752 1677 1652 1694 1678 1581 1548 1657 1599 1541 1911 1921 1926 1931 1936 1946 1954 1962 1968 1975 1770 1800 2800 3400 3270 3210 3851 5274 6346 8492 1982 1990 1999 2008 10,197 13,014 16,040 19,703 Economy
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the village was a centre of floral production, producing lavender, roses and jasmine for the perfumeries in nearby Grasse. Mougins is a living village, where both the ancient buildings and the 19th century houses are inhabited as they have always been.
Sights
The Church of Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur is situated in the heart of the village and dates back to the 11th century, although the interior has been remodeled in the 20th century.
Personalities
Commandant Amédée-François Lamy, was born in Mougins in February 1858, and died at the battle of Kousséri in Chad in April 1900. Fort-Lamy in Chad was named after him, but was renamed N'Djamena in 1973. The main 'Place' in the village is named after Commandant Lamy and the back-street village house that he was born in has a plaque to show where he lived.
Amenities
The Mougins Museum of Classical Art (MMoCA) has opened in May 2011. It displays a private collection of around seven hundred two-thousand-year-old Roman, Greek and Egyptian antiquities which are shown alongside a collection of modern and contemporary art with a classical subject matter. Artists with classical works in the museum include Picasso, Matisse, Cézanne, Degas, Dalí, Dufy, Chagall, Derain, Lautrec, Yves Klein, Damien Hirst, Marc Quinn, Antony Gormley, Arman. It is the first time that ancient 2000-3000 year-old antiquities are displayed alongside modern artworks where one can observe the influence of the classics in the artists work. As well as modern artists being exhibited, there is a collection of period artworks including two paintings by Peter Paul Rubens and works by Michel Martin Drolling, Alessandro Turchi, Hubert Robert and Antoine Caron.
The Museum of Photography in Mougins has a permanent collection of photographic portraits of Picasso, as well as many other artists of the period.
The art galerie, Galerie Elegance, near the church, has a permanent collection of french painters.
Mougins has golf courses, including the Royal Mougins Golf Resort and the Cannes-Mougins Golf Club.
Mougins has kept the quality of its environment intact and offers visitors, from the height of 260 metres, a 360-degree view of the Côte d'Azur. To the south, one views the Mediterranean Sea, including the "baie de Cannes" and the Lérins islands. To the northwest, one looks over the ancient village of Grasse, famous for its perfumeries, and to the northeast one has a clear view of the stunning mountains of the Maritime Alps (Préalpes), while the village is also surrounded by the Valmasque Forest, which covers 427 hectares.
Education
Mougins School is an international school that was established in 1964.
Mayors
Identity F. Tajasque Laumbre-Delanoy J. Sauvan André Bailet Maillan Roger Duhalde Richard Galy Period 1904–1905 193?-195r 195?-196? 196?-196? 196?-1970 1970–2001 2001–2014 Political party Gaullist RPR UMP See also
References
External links
- la Galerie Elegance, the permanent collection of french painters about village outdoors scenes
- Mougins Museum of Classical Art
- Le Mas Candille, a Relais & Châteaux in Mougins
- Galerie Sintitulo, the contemporary art gallery sustaining mediterranean young artists
- La Place de Mougins
- L'Amandier
Categories:- Communes of Alpes-Maritimes
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