Last modified: 2012-04-03 by ivan sache
Keywords: alpes-maritimes | chateauneuf-villevieille | castle (red) | fleurs-de-lis: 6 (red) |
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![[Flag of Chateauneuf-Villevieille]](../images/f/fr-06-cv.gif)
Flag of Châteauneuf-Villevieille - Image by Ivan Sache, 7 January 2005
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The village of Châteauneuf-Villevieille (685 inhabitants) is located 20 km of Nice on the eastern part of the Férion ridge, scattered among olive and cherry trees.
There was a Ligurian castellaras (fortified camp) on the site of
Châteauneuf, which was reused by the Romans to build a castrum.
The first Gallo-Roman, civil settlement was located in Villevieille
(Old town); during the 6th-7th centuries, it proved to be unsafe and was
abandoned. Its inhabitants moved uphill (623 m asl) and built the new
village of Castrum novum or Castellum novum (Châteauneuf). The
medieval, fortified village (9th-12th centuries), now ruined, was
defended by walls and three main gates.
The domain of Châteauneuf was then shared by some 30-40 co-owners,
including the troubadour Pierre de Châteauneuf (13th century), and is
the root of several noble families of Nice. Châteauneuf was also among
the possessions of the Order of Malta. Among the best preserved parts
of the old village are a creneled tower used to breed pigeons and big
water tanks dug under the houses to collect and store rain water.
In the 18th century, the settlement moved back down to Villevieille,
where the current village is still located.
In 1911, the two municipalities of Bendejun and Cantaron seceded from Châteauneuf. On 15 November 1961, the municipality was renamed Châteauneuf-de-Contes, after the neighbouring village of Contes. Its current name of Châteauneuf-Villevieille was adopted on 1 September 1992.
Ivan Sache, 7 January 2005
The flag of Châteauneuf-Villevieille, hosted on the facade of the town hall, is white with the municipal coat of arms, "Argent a castle gules an orle of six fleurs-de-lis of the same".
The coat of arms is shown, with a grey field, on a plaque placed below the flag described above. Below the plaque, there is a wall ceramic piece showing a yellow shield charged with a white castle inscribed inside a red 16-pointed star/sun.
Dominique Cureau, 7 January 2005