Salon-de-Provence

Sister cities

• Wertheim
• Gubbio
• Huntingdon
• Aranda de Duero
• Szentendre

History

Salon was a Gallo-Roman oppidum well positioned on the salt trade routes between Adriatic, Atlantic and Mediterranean seas, hence its name. This region was under the Phocaean influence since the sixth century BC, and stretches of the Via Aurelia can still be recognized just outside the town, but the earliest mention of the place under its familiar name is of the ninth century, as Villa Salone. The archbishops of Arles controlled the site. Its principal claim to fame today is as the place where Nostradamus spent his last years and is buried. His dwelling is maintained as a museum, and for four days every June or July, the city celebrates its history during the time of Nostradamus, attracting tourists. The historic center still lies within its circuit of walls, entered through two seventeenth-century gateways, the Porte de l'Horloge and the Porte du Bourg Neuf. In 1559 the engineer Adam de Craponne opened the Canal de Craponne to bring fresh water from the river Durance to the town and the surrounding plain of Crau. Inexpensive freight brought commerce to Salon, and the town prospered.