France
Roman treasures of the Rhone river
For 2000 years, archeological objects of an inestimable value have been sleeping in the river bed of the Rhone River underneath the quay of the historic city of Arles, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A team of archeologists and divers has been digging patiently in these dark waters since twenty years in order to return their discoveries to the light of day.They are being presented to the public for the first time in the exhibition « César, le Rhône pour mémoire », the happy ending to an adventure story of a determined scientific quest in a battle against the ever-charging currents of a capricious river.
Photos by Remi Benali-Patrick Landmann/LightMediation Text by Alexie Valois
Contact – Thierry Tinacci – LightMediation Photo Agency – +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 email: thierry[AT]lightmediation.com
Loire on wheels…
Final link in an extensive European itinerary connecting the Black Sea to the Atlantic, the bicycle-riding path crossing the Loire Valley allows for a palatable journey between the wilderness and great history. A trip accessible to all led by a famed guide:France’s longest river classified in Humanity’s world heritage!
Photos and text ©Marc Dozier / LightMediation
Contact – Thierry Tinacci – Lightmediation Photo Agency +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 email: thierry[AT]lightmediation.com
Les esthéticiens de la Tour Eiffel par Stephane Compoint
Pour la 19ème fois, le momument le plus visité de France est repeint. Embarquement avec une équipe de peintres alpinistes sur ce chantier hors norme!
Un reportage de Stéphane Compoint/LightMediation
Contact – Thierry Tinacci – Agence Photo LightMediation – +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 email:thierry[AT]lightmediation.com
Route de Compostelle: Puy – Moissac : premiers pas vers l’étoile
Du Puy-en-Velay à Moissac, le premier grand tronçon de l’itinéraire vers Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle constitue l’une des plus belles étapes du parcours. Une mise en jambe pour le corps et un régal pour les yeux.
Photos et texte de Marc Dozier / LightMediation
Contact – Thierry Tinacci Agence Photo LightMediation +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 thierry[AT]lightmediation.com
The Lascaux cave : a Prehistoric sky-map…
17,000 years ago, the Lascaux painters offered the world a peerless work of art. However, according to a new theory, some of the paintings could also be the representations of the constellations as seen in the sky by our ancestors from the Magdalenian era. Such a hypothesis, confirmed in many others Paleolithic Caves, radically transforms our conception concerning prehistoric Rock Art, as well as the history of Astronomy. Actuality : 2009, International Year of Astronomy http://www.astronomy2009.org/
Photos ©Stephane Begoin-Pascal Goetgheluck/LightMediation Text ®Pedro Lima
Contact – Thierry Tinacci – LightMediation Photo Agency +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 thierry@lightmediation.com
The palace of Versailles hall of mirrors unveil its new face.
For the first time since its creation more than three hundred years ago, the galerie des glaces ( »Hall of Mirrors ») at the famed Palace of Versailles has been entirely restored.
This exclusive photographic report showcases not only the new and improved hall, but all the steps in its three-year-long re-creation: a working site like no other, where state-of-the-art technology would come together with arts and crafts as they were performed under the reign of Louis XIV. More than 12 million euros were necessary for VINCI, the world’s leading construction company, to finance this project.
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La Loire en danger
Le dernier fleuve sauvage d’Europe classé par l’UNESCO est sérieusement menacé. En trente ans le niveau d’eau a baissé de 3 à 5 mètres. Réchauffement climatique, surexploitation des ressources naturelles, pompage pour l’irrigation et les centrales nucléaires… les activités de l’homme mettent en péril tout l’écosystème ligérien et avec lui, l’art de vivre en Val de Loire : un héritage auquel les générations à venir devront renoncer si l’on ne change pas de cap.
Sur la route des ocres
Les ocres fascinent. De Roussillon à Gignac, en passant par Villars, Gargas et Rustrel, les anciennes carrières d’ocre de la vallée d’Apt (Vaucluse) sortent de l’oubli, des sentiers de randonnée sont ouverts, des belvédères sont aménagés, les traces du passé sont mises au goût du jour. « Okhra », en grec, signifie terre jaune. Mais dans ces villages du haut Luberon la nature a fait preuve d’une créativité débordante. Cheminées des fées, falaises colorées, facades de maisons, l’ocre se décline ici en dix-sept nuances. Comme si la terre voulait clouer le bec au soleil.
Procession de la Sanch, the Good Friday procession in Perpignan
South of France. Every Good Friday, « penitents » dressed in black or in red file out of the church Saint-Jacques de Perpignan and cross the city over several hours. Created originally in 1416, this procession of brothers had the mission of accompanying the condemned to their execution. Today, this procession celebrates more the Passion of Christ and remains one of the most moving, spectacular events in Roussillon, in which the sacred and the profane are very close.
The golden girls
The Golden girls. The îles d’Or – Porquerolles, Port-Cros and Levant – are a heaven for all those who love nature and peace. To protect these wild but welcoming daughters of the Mediterranean, visitor numbers are limited – so you’ll have to get an early start if you want to enjoy this island paradise.
Smoking – the birth of every Frenchman or woman. There cannot be a public space in the whole of France where puffing on a cigarette is a sin, surely? Only, hanging from the mainland like flakes of ash from white, burning stick of tobacco, dangling precariously from a Gallic hand, is such a place. A lost world. Three islands, each to varying degrees could be likened to dinosaur refuge Jurassick Park – offshore islets where a way of life long since extinct is preserved. And the government is very keen to keep it this way, which means stubbing out smoking.
A stray cigarette butt could cause untold damage to this fragile environment. Equally, errant, clumsy feet pose a threat to vegetation. Nicolas Gérardin, manager of the îles d’Or national park, says that biologists had already noted damage to several rare plant species and a decline in the number of peregrine falcons due to too many walkers around the cliffs on the islands. Likewise, the once commonplace monk seal is now rarely seen in these waters. The authorities were forced to take action. New measure have banned smoking and limited tourist numbers – if you can’t get a ticket, then you are not coming in. Once privately owned, since being opened as national parks, both îles de Porquerolles and îles de Port-Cros – two of the three – have attracted a steady following of admirers. Meanwhile, îles du Levant has made a name for itself in certain circles, become a favourite haunt for people with literally nothing to hide.
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