Editing Oppède

{{Infobox French commune
|name                   = Oppède 
|commune status         = [[Communes of France|Commune]]
|image                  = Oppède le Vieux - Vue de l'aire de battage.jpg
|caption                = Oppède-le-Vieux
|image coat of arms     = Blason ville fr Oppède (Vaucluse).svg
|arrondissement         = Apt
|canton                 = Apt
|INSEE                  = 84086
|postal code            = 84580
|mayor                  = Jean Pierre Gerault<ref>{{cite web|title=Répertoire national des élus: les maires|url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/2876a346-d50c-4911-934e-19ee07b0e503|publisher=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises|date=4 May 2022|language=fr}}</ref>
|term                   = 2021&ndash;2026
|intercommunality       = [[Communauté d'agglomération Luberon Monts de Vaucluse|CA Luberon Monts de Vaucluse]]
|coordinates            = {{coord|43.8453|5.1694|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation m            = 300
|elevation min m        = 103
|elevation max m        = 733
|area km2               = 24.1
|population             = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
|population date        = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
|population footnotes   = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
}}

'''Oppède''' ({{IPA|fr|ɔpɛd}}; {{langx|oc|Opeda}}) is a [[Communes of France|commune]] in the [[Vaucluse]] [[Departments of France|department]] in the [[Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur]] [[Regions of France|region]] in southeastern [[France]]. ''Oppidum'' is the Latin word for 'fortified town'.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Le Hir |first=Geneviève |date=2005-04-12 |title=À propos d’Oppède de Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.7202/501297ar |journal=Études littéraires |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=128 |doi=10.7202/501297ar |issn=1708-9069|doi-access=free }}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Oppede-le-vieux 2023.06.jpg|thumb|Oppède le Vieux as seen from the northern flank of the Luberon mountains in June 2023.]]
It is in fact two villages: Oppède-le-Vieux ("the old" in French), built against the [[Luberon|Petit Luberon]] and dating back to the 12th century, and Oppède-les-Poulivets ("nice view" in [[Provençal dialect|Provençal]]), today known as "le village", down in the valley.

The old village, built on a rocky hill, has narrow streets. In winter, the Petit Luberon starts casting its shadow early in the afternoon. Houses beyond the medieval [[Defensive wall|ramparts]] are dark, humid and tricky to maintain.

From below the village is dominated by the restored church of Notre-Dame-Dalidon and the ruins of the castle.

In the 19th century, the inhabitants had enough and started to move down in the valley, dismantling the roof of their houses to stop paying property taxes.

By the beginning of the 20th century, Oppède-le-Vieux was a ghost village and a new community was officially established in the valley, with larger streets, cosier houses and farmers closer to their fields.

Following the [[Second Armistice at Compiègne|armistice of June 1940]], architect [[Bernard Zehrfuss]] founded a commune of artists in the old town, a project that attracted French sculptor [[François Stahly]] and the writer and artist [[Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry]].  The commune proved short-lived.  It was the basis for Saint-Exupéry's fictionalized account, published in 1946, called "Kingdom of the Rocks".<ref>Saint-Exupéry: a biography By [[Stacy Schiff]], page 381</ref>

==Geography==
The commune is traversed by the river [[Calavon]].

==Personalities==
* [[Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry]]
* [[Ridley Scott]]
* [[Jean-Paul Clébert]]<ref>"La [[Provence]] dit adieu à Jean-Paul Clébert, [[Jean-Pierre Thiollet]], ''France Soir'', 23 September 2011</ref>
* [[Alexey Brodovitch]]

==See also==
*[[Communes of the Vaucluse department]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Oppède}}
* [http://www.oppede.eu video about Oppede with two free clips ] - Oppède le Vieux, a small village in the Luberon

{{Vaucluse communes}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oppede}}
[[Category:Communes of Vaucluse]]


{{Vaucluse-geo-stub}}