MY VILLAGE IN PROVENCE

Mission preservation

An episode from the series FRENCH HERITAGE JOURNEYS (52MNS)

Synopsis

François Guyonnet is from Provence. He is a heritage curator. For the last 30 years, he has been flying over the hilltop villages of the Luberon region of Provence, studying their history. In Saumane-de-Vaucluse, he opens the doors of the château belonging to the family of the Marquis de Sade.

In the heart of Provence stands the highest mountain in the region: Mont Ventoux. At dawn, three locals climb to the summit. Among them is Nathalie David, who has set up a publishing house in Brantes, an unusual hamlet where the inhabitants have created craft businesses to stay in the village.

In the Baronnies, Jean-François Roussot, a farmer and herbalist, is trying to revive the traditional linden harvest that has long made the region famous.