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Explore France Holiday Guides Charente 2008-2009 Timeless hospitality in the Charente
| Timeless hospitality in the Charente |
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| Tuesday, 18 March 2008 | |
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Rolling
farmland and
rivers link fine
ancient towns
and villages.
The climate is
mild, the food
and drink
heart-warming
and the people
easy-going. Buffeted by Crusades, periods of secession from the French throne, the Religious Wars, the Revolution and a recent ‘invasion’ of Englishspeaking settlers, the Charente has had its share of settlers and passers-by: it has been home or host to farming Gauls, conquering Romans, exhausted pilgrims and valiant Knights Templar, warring nobles, craftsmen and merchants. The soothing patchwork of field, vineyard and forest is sprinkled with little towns and villages, each nestling around an ancient church, where traditional life seems to carry on regardless. The Charente is one of four départements making up the region of Poitou-Charentes. The others are Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne. Within the Charente, the five areas or ‘pays’ each have a distinct character but all have a generous share of river. From the South Charente, with its echoes of nextdoor Dordogne, to the gently sloping vineyards and fine stone mansions of the wealthy cognacproducing West Charente, through the sleepy riverside villages of the Ruffécois, the hillier pine and fir forests of the Haute-Charente on the borders of the Limousin, or the caves and rock formations in the Horte-et-Tardoire, you are always within easy reach of the Angoumois in the centre, radiating around the préfecture city of Angoulême.  The locals are relaxed, easy to talk to, down-toearth and often show off that special Charentais humour which consists in poking fun at themselves. The French traditionally consider the Charentais as somewhat laid back, not to say lazy, loud-mouthed and zany. They are stereotyped by allusion to their most famous products – cognac and the homely Charentaise slipper. Beware of confusing a native of the Charente with one from next-door Charente-Maritime – local chauvinism similar to Kentish men and Men of Kent.  King François I, the English king Henry VIII’s contemporary, was born here; other famous natives include the writers La Rochefoucauld and Alfred de Vigny and, more recently, former president François Mitterrand. The Charente has one of the richest displays of Romanesque art. Angoulême’s cathedral to Saint Pierre is a must, as is the monumental abbey at Saint-Amand-de-Boixe, the stonework in the church of Saint-Denis at Lichères, the towering belfry of Lesterps abbey, the animalia at Notre- Dame de Courcôme, Châteauneuf-sur-Charente’s equestrian statue, the abbey at Châtres near Saint- Brice and many others. With its neatly farmed countryside and virtually every food item available fresh from the woods, fields, rivers or nearby ocean, the Charentais is generally quite happy with his peaceful lot. |
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