Martigues – statues – fisherman and a woman
Image by ell brown
We were on the way to The Camargue, when we stopped off in this small town near a Lagoon, not too far away from Marseille.
The Etang de Berre, situated between Marseille and the Camargue, has the largest petroleum refinery industry in France, which dominates the landscape. However, on the inland side of the Canal de Caronte is the former fishing port and artists’ colony of Martigues, which still attracts a holiday crowd.
Martigues lies on both banks of the canal and on the island of Brescon, where the Pont San Sebastien is a popular place for artists to set up their easels.
Felix Ziem (1821-1911) was the most ardent admirer of this "little Venice"; his paintings and works by contemporary artists can be viewed in the Musee Ziem.
From DK Eyewitness Travel: Provence & The Cote D’Azur
Martigues on Wikipedia
Martigues (Occitan: Lo Martegue in classical norm, Lou Martegue in Mistralian norm) is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte.
A direct translation from the Martigues Tourisme Website reveals the following about Martigues:
Nicknamed the "Provençale Venice", Martigues is a point of passage between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Martigues (now Etang de Berre), close to the Côte d’Azur. The charm of its canals, its docks and bridges made it "The Venice of Provence". Martigues possesses also its cooperative winery "La Venise provençale": Coteaux d’Aix en Provence, rosé, red and white wines, fruit juices and natural oils in the region. Main varietals: Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Carignan, Clairette.
I crossed the bridge to find this statue on the other side. One is of a woman sitting on a bench.
According to another photo on Flickr, it is of a fisherman and a woman.
