Carpentras
{{For|the Renaissance composer of the same name|Carpentras (composer)}}
{{Infobox French commune
|name = Carpentras
|commune status = Subprefecture and commune
|image = Hotel de Ville de Carpentras.JPG
|caption = Town hall
|image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Carpentras (Vaucluse).svg
|arrondissement = Carpentras
|canton = Carpentras
|INSEE = 84031
|postal code = 84200
|term = 2020–2026
|intercommunality = CA Ventoux-Comtat Venaissin
|coordinates = {{coord|44.0558|05.0489|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation m = 95
|elevation min m = 56
|elevation max m = 212
|area km2 = 37.92
|population = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
|population date = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
|population footnotes = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
}}
Carpentras ({{IPA|fr|kaʁpɑ̃tʁa}}, formerly {{IPA|fr|kaʁpɑ̃tʁas|}};{{Cite book|title=Traité complet de la prononciation française dans la seconde moitié du XIXe siècle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ht9FAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA271|publisher=Mauke|date=1871|language=fr|first=M.-A.|last=Lesaint}} Provençal Occitan: Carpentràs in classical norm or Carpentras in Mistralian norm; {{langx|la|Carpentoracte}}) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.
As capital of the Comtat Venaissin, it was frequently the residence of the Avignon popes; the Papal States retained possession of the Venaissin until the French Revolution. Nowadays, Carpentras is a commercial center for Comtat Venaissin and is famous for the black truffle markets held from winter to early spring.
Carpentras briefly held France's all-time high-temperature record, during the heatwave of June 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/28/france-on-red-alert-as-heatwave-forecast-to-reach-record-45c|title = France records all-time highest temperature of 45.9C|website = TheGuardian.com|date = 28 June 2019}}
History
=Classical antiquity=
File:Carpentras Stela, in CIS II 141 (cropped).jpg, found in the town in 1704, was the first Northwest Semitic (i.e. Canaanite or Aramaic) inscription published anywhere in modern times.{{cite book|last=Gibson|first=J. C. L.|title=Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions: II. Aramaic Inscriptions: Including Inscriptions in the Dialect of Zenjirli|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nXkHAQAAIAAJ|date=30 October 1975|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-813186-1|page=120|quote=The Carpentras stele: The famous funerary stele (CIS ii 141) was the first Syrian Semitic inscr. to become known in Europe, being discovered in the early 18 cent.; it measures 0.35 m high by 0.33m broad and is housed in a museum at Carpentras in southern France.}}]]
Carpentras was a commercial site used by Greek merchants in ancient times, and known to Romans at first as Carpentoracte Meminorum, mentioned by Pliny, then renamed Forum Neronis ("Forum of Nero"); the city retains a Roman triumphal arch, that has been enclosed by the bishops' palace, rebuilt in 1640, now a law court, and a machicolated city gate, the Porte d'Orange.
=Ancient Diocese of Carpentras=
For the history of the bishopric of Carpentras, see Ancient Diocese of Carpentras.
=Middle Ages=
At the beginning of the Avignon Papacy, Pope Clement V took up residence, along with the Roman Curia, in Carpentras in 1313. His successor, Pope John XXII, settled definitively at Avignon.
=Municipal library=
Joseph-Dominique d'Inguimbert, Bishop of Carpentras from 1735 to 1754, established a great scholarly library which Jean-François Delmas, the chief librarian as of 2009, has called "the oldest of our municipal libraries"; known as the Bibliothèque Inguimbertine and now holding around 140,000 books, it is known to bibliophiles all over France and is scheduled to move into roomier quarters in the former Hôtel-Dieu in 2013.Thomas Wieder, "[http://www.lemonde.fr/livres/article/2009/08/13/un-cabinet-de-curiosites-a-carpentras-4-5_1228125_3260.html Un cabinet de curiosités à Carpentras]," Le Monde des Livres, August 13, 2009.{{Full citation needed|date=December 2010}}
=French Revolution and return to France=
Until 1791, Carpentras was part of the Papal States, not of the Kingdom of France.
Like most communities across France, Carpentras played a role in the 1789-1799 French Revolution, particularly during the rule of the French Directory. After the 'Anti-Royalist' September 4, 1797 Coup of 18 Fructidor, on October 22, 1797, counter-revolutionaries take the city's government and hold it in protest for 24 hours.
=Jewish community=
Into the 20th and 21st centuries, Carpentras has been an important centre of French Judaism and is home to the oldest synagogue in France, which opened in 1367 and is still active today{{when|date=April 2022}}. The Jewish cemetery was desecrated by members of the French and European Nationalist Party in May 1990, causing a public uproar and a demonstration in Paris that was attended by 200,000 people, including then-president François Mitterrand.{{cite web |url=https://www.humanite.fr/popup_imprimer.html?id_article=774664 |title=Imprimer :: Le procès de quatre profanateurs néo-nazis après six ans de fausses pistes - l'Humanite |access-date=2009-07-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015201524/http://www.humanite.fr/popup_imprimer.html?id_article=774664 |archive-date=2008-10-15 }}
Population
{{Historical populations
| align = none
| cols = 2
| percentages = pagr
| source = EHESS{{Cassini-Ehess|6973|Carpentras}} and INSEE (1968–2017)[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-84031#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE
| graph-pos = bottom
|1793 |9900
|1800 |8489
|1806 |9674
|1821 |9099
|1831 |9817
|1836 |9224
|1841 |9776
|1846 |10198
|1851 |10711
|1856 |10891
|1861 |10918
|1866 |10848
|1872 |10524
|1876 |10479
|1881 |9699
|1886 |9685
|1891 |9778
|1896 |10797
|1901 |10443
|1906 |10721
|1911 |11390
|1921 |11191
|1926 |11805
|1931 |12632
|1936 |13732
|1946 |14222
|1954 |15076
|1962 |18199
|1968 |21388
|1975 |24251
|1982 |24838
|1990 |24212
|1999 |26090
|2007 |28526
|2012 |28520
|2017 |28309
}}
Geography
Carpentras stands on the banks of the river Auzon, a tributary of the Sorgue. It is 23 km southwest of Mont Ventoux, and 23 km northeast of Avignon. Carpentras station has rail connections to Sorgues and Avignon.
=Climate=
In the Köppen climate classification, Carpentras has a borderline humid subtropical (Cfa),{{cite web | url=https://planificateur.a-contresens.net/europe/france/provence_alpes_cote_d_azur/carpentras/3028542.html | title=Météo et climat : Carpentras (France) - Quand partir à Carpentras ?}} and hot-summer mediterranean climate (Csa) with cool winters and hot summers. The rainiest seasons are spring (April–May) and autumn (September–October), where heavy downpours may happen.
{{Weather box|width=auto
|metric first=y
|single line=y
|collapsed = Y
|location = Carpentras (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1963–present)
|Jan record high C = 21.0
|Feb record high C = 23.1
|Mar record high C = 28.1
|Apr record high C = 30.8
|May record high C = 35.4
|Jun record high C = 44.3
|Jul record high C = 41.6
|Aug record high C = 42.2
|Sep record high C = 36.0
|Oct record high C = 31.2
|Nov record high C = 24.9
|Dec record high C = 21.5
|Jan record low C = -15.4
|Feb record low C = -12.5
|Mar record low C = -11.8
|Apr record low C = -2.9
|May record low C = 0.1
|Jun record low C = 4.4
|Jul record low C = 7.6
|Aug record low C = 6.7
|Sep record low C = 2.2
|Oct record low C = -3.1
|Nov record low C = -9.0
|Dec record low C = -12.0
|Jan high C = 11.1
|Feb high C = 12.8
|Mar high C = 17.1
|Apr high C = 20.4
|May high C = 24.6
|Jun high C = 29.1
|Jul high C = 32.3
|Aug high C = 31.9
|Sep high C = 26.4
|Oct high C = 21.1
|Nov high C = 15.0
|Dec high C = 11.3
| year high C = 21.1
|Jan mean C = 6.1
|Feb mean C = 6.9
|Mar mean C = 10.5
|Apr mean C = 13.6
|May mean C = 17.7
|Jun mean C = 21.7
|Jul mean C = 24.4
|Aug mean C = 24.0
|Sep mean C = 19.5
|Oct mean C = 15.3
|Nov mean C = 9.9
|Dec mean C = 6.5
| year mean C = 14.7
|Jan low C = 1.0
|Feb low C = 1.1
|Mar low C = 4.0
|Apr low C = 6.9
|May low C = 10.8
|Jun low C = 14.4
|Jul low C = 16.5
|Aug low C = 16.1
|Sep low C = 12.7
|Oct low C = 9.5
|Nov low C = 4.9
|Dec low C = 1.8
| year low C = 8.3
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 46.3
|Feb precipitation mm = 34.2
|Mar precipitation mm = 41.3
|Apr precipitation mm = 61.1
|May precipitation mm = 55.6
|Jun precipitation mm = 41.7
|Jul precipitation mm = 25.7
|Aug precipitation mm = 40.6
|Sep precipitation mm = 98.7
|Oct precipitation mm = 87.6
|Nov precipitation mm = 90.8
|Dec precipitation mm = 41.9
|year precipitation mm = 665.5
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 5.9
| Feb precipitation days = 4.8
| Mar precipitation days = 5.1
| Apr precipitation days = 6.8
| May precipitation days = 6.3
| Jun precipitation days = 4.5
| Jul precipitation days = 3.0
| Aug precipitation days = 3.7
| Sep precipitation days = 5.5
| Oct precipitation days = 6.6
| Nov precipitation days = 7.9
| Dec precipitation days = 5.6
| year precipitation days =65.8
|source 1 = Meteociel{{cite web
|url=https://www.meteociel.fr/obs/clim/normales_records.php?code=84031001
|title=Normales et records pour Carpentras (84)
|publisher=Meteociel
|access-date=14 December 2024}}}}
Economy
{{expand section|date=April 2023}}
Traditions
File:Truffle Market in Carpentras.jpg
Carpentras is famous for the truffle market that takes place every Friday morning during the winter months.[http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/provence/black_truffles/ Truffle Market]
Its traditional confectionery is the berlingot, a small hard candy with thin white stripes, originally made from the syrup left over from conservation of fruits.
Personalities
Carpentras was the birthplace of (chronologically):
- Carpentras (also known as Elzéar Genet) (c.1470–1548), prominent early Renaissance composer
- Hercule Audiffret (1603–1659), orator and Superior General of the Congrégation des Doctrinaires
- Louis Archimbaud (1705–1789), composer and organist of Carpentras Cathedral
- Joseph Duplessis (1725–1802), portraitist
- Jean-Pierre-Xavier Bidauld (1743–1813), painter
- Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld (1758–1846), painter
- Alexis-Vincent-Charles Berbiguier de Terre-Neuve du Thym, (1765–1851), author and demonologist
- Victor Olivier de Puymanel (1768–1799), French Navy volunteer, and adventurer in Vietnam
- François-Vincent Raspail (1794–1878), chemist, physiologist, and socialist
- Jean-Joseph Bonaventure Laurens (1801–1890), painter, lithographer, musician
- Édouard Daladier (1884–1970) politician and Prime Minister of France at the start of the Second World War
- Daniel Lazard (1941–), computer scientist
- Bruno Boscherie (1950–), fencer, Olympic Gold medalist
- Christophe Maé (1975–), musician and composer
- Éric Salignon (1982–), racing driver
- Thomas Mangani (1987–), professional footballer
- Raphaël Cacérès (1987–), professional footballer
International relations
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in France}}
Carpentras is twinned with:
- {{flagicon|SUI}} Vevey, Switzerland{{cite web|url=http://www.asccre.ch/fr/N208/vaud-waadt-vaud.html|title=Association Suisse des Communes et Régions d'Europe|access-date=2013-07-20|work=L'Association suisse pour le Conseil des Communes et Régions d'Europe (ASCCRE)|language=fr|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724051705/http://www.asccre.ch/fr/N208/vaud-waadt-vaud.html|archive-date=2012-07-24}}
- {{flagicon|GER}} Seesen, Germany
- {{flagicon|USA}} Ponchatoula, Louisiana, USA
- {{flagicon|ITA}} Camaiore, Italy
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Carpentras}}
- {{wikivoyage-inline|Carpentras}}
- [http://www.carpentras.fr/ Carpentras official website] (in French)
- {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Carpentras |volume=5 |page=386 |short=1}}
- Pictures of Carpentras Cathedral: [https://web.archive.org/web/20051013015329/http://catholique-avignon.cef.fr/divers/histoire/cathed/St-siff-fac.jpg], [https://web.archive.org/web/20051013015319/http://catholique-avignon.cef.fr/divers/histoire/cathed/Carp.jpg]
- Pictures of Carpentras Synagogue: [http://perso.orange.fr/max-claude/F84-CarpentrasSynagogue.jpg], [http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/inventai/itiinv/synag/fr/syna4.gif], [http://perso.orange.fr/max-claude/F84-CarpentrasSynagogue01.jpg]
{{Vaucluse communes}}
{{Authority control}}