If you had to choose just one perched village in France as the most beautiful, which would it be?  Fayence, perhaps?  Or Gordes in the Vaucluse?  Gassin would be at the top of my list.

From its vantage point of some 200m altitude, Gassin has the kind of view which is hard to beat. Is there any other perched village in France which can boast a panorama stretching all the way from the islands of Hyères in one direction, across the sparkling Golfe de St. Tropez, as far as the snowy peaks of the distant Alps, in the other?

If the unique view isn’t reason enough to pay a visit to Gassin, the village itself is delightful.  Steeped in history, it has won the distinction of being included in the prestigious list of the 148 most beautiful villages in France.  It is also worth mentioning that, at around 4kms from the Mediterranean coast, Gassin is the only village on the list to have its “pieds dans l’eau”. 

Photo: The View from Gassin

Gassin draws thousands of sightseers to its narrow, winding streets every year. This must be good for local businesses, but don’t the residents get fed up with a constant stream of tourists clumping past their living room windows, admiring their front doors and photographing their pots of petunias?

I posed the question to Fernand Ansaldi, 1er Adjoint to the Maire of Gassin, responsible for tourism, culture and communication:

“Oh, I don’t think they mind,” he replies, with a smile. “Tourism is a vital part of the life of the commune.  We are happy to welcome visitors and many of our residents now live out of the way in the new extension which was added to the lower West side of the village.”

Mr. Ansaldi is referring to the extension designed by Spoerry, which won the “Marianne d’Or” award in 1995 for its architecture “inspired by authentic values of the past,” which compliments the historic features of the village.

“Gassin has around 2,800 residents,” Mr. Ansaldi goes on, “but only about 400 of them live in the village during the summer.  In the winter, that figure goes down to around 50 to 60.”

Photo: Mr. Ansaldi

What is it that attracts residents and visitors to Gassin?

With no hesitation, Mr. Ansaldi replies, “The quality of life and the nature,” he says.  “Our aim at the Mairie is to provide a high-quality service to everyone who comes to Gassin, either as a resident or a holiday-maker, whilst preserving the exceptional beauty of the natural environment.”

Gassin does seem exceptionally well-equipped, yet remains surprisingly unspoilt.  Its facilities include a new Pôle de Santé (hospital complex), a collège and lycée, a Maison de Tourisme, a commercial complex at La Foux, with its Géant supermarket and 30 other shops, the large Azur Park fairground, hotels, restaurants, camp sites and holiday village, not to mention the Gassin Golf & Country Club, the Haras de Gassin (polo club), numerous indoor and outdoor sports facilities and, of course, the commune’s 10 wine-producing domaines.

The Mairie of Gassin has known sadness in recent years with the deaths of two of its Maires: Robert Dho (who served the commune for 25 years) in 2002 and Joseph  Desdéri in 2004.  Mr. Ansaldi joined the Mairie in 1995 and assumed his role as 1er Adjoint in 2004 when the (then) 1er Adjoint, Yvon Zerbone, was elected as the new Maire after the death of Mr. Desdéri.

As a former employee of EMI, Mr. Ansaldi believes his commercial background has been helpful in fulfilling his responsibilities, particularly when it comes to arranging and promoting cultural events in the commune.  Among his projects have been a series of “rencontres musicales” (musical gatherings) in the village, including a rendition of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, performed by Christian Mandoze at Gassin’s Chapelle de la Consolation, with proceeds donated to Alzheimer’s research. 

Mr. Ansaldi was also responsible for overseeing the organisation of the prestigious Masters Polo tournament which took place in Gassin in September.  This year, for the first time, the event was held simultaneously with the Rencontre de Jardins exhibition in the nearby Pépinières Derbez garden centre, on the Route de St. Tropez.

The winding road that leads to Gassin is wooded on either side and the undergrowth between the trees has been meticulously cleared to minimise the risk of forest fire. This year, neighbouring St. Tropez and Ramatuelle both had serious fires to contend with.  Have the forest fires affected Gassin?

“We have been lucky compared to some our neighbours,” Mr. Ansaldi admits. “There was a fire which burned practically to our doorstep, but fortunately the golf course acted as a firebreak and saved us.”

How is Gassin coping with the current water crisis in the Var?

Mr. Ansaldi pulls a face. “We are in pretty much the same situation as everyone else,” he says.  “La secheresse is certainly taking its toll.  Even some of the trees in the commune have started to die.  If this carries on we will have to envisage finding alternative sources of water, either by desalination - after all, the sea is right at our feet - or possibly by using a system of water recuperation and treatment.  That could be very costly, though, so we would have to examine all the options.”

Does the Mairie envisage much new development in the future?

“The next project on the agenda is a new école maternelle but, as far as new residential buildings are concerned, we have a small housing development under way on the back road heading out towards La Croix-Valmer, and that’s about it for the moment.

“We feel that Gassin is close to saturation point and while we will always cater for our residents, we do not intend to build new properties just for the sake of it.  We have a responsibility to preserve the natural beauty of our commune and we aim to keep as much verdure as possible.”

GASSIN - THE HISTORY 

There is a certain amount of controversy over the origins of Gassin’s name but one likely theory is that it originates from “gardia sinus”, or gardienne du golfe, the name the Templiers assigned to a tower built within the commune towards the end of the 10th century.  Over the years, the name changed to Garcin and finally to Gassin.

It is thought that Gassin is one of the oldest villages in the area, with the first written traces dating back to 1234-1235.  Gassin’s coat of arms (above right) features a château with three silver towers “built of sand” which, by its resemblance to the Castellane coat of arms, shows that a part of Gassin’s history was linked to the Castellane family.  Indeed, in around 1300, Jacques de Castellane became the first seigneur of Garcin.

The plains surrounding Gassin were populated right back to Neolithique times and archaeologists have unearthed fragments dating from the Bronze and Iron Ages.

The Roman occupation brought security and prosperity to the region in the form of agricultural exploitations.  Most traces have now disappeared but the commune of Gassin still boasts 18 important finds dating from the gallo-roman period, including a stone slab in la Chapelle Notre-Dame de Consolation which bears a drawing of a ship corresponding to the end of the 1st century.  The stone bears an inscription which is practically illegible today, but which, it is thought, could be an epitaph to a sailor from the Forum Julii fleet.

The history surrounding Gassin is so diverse, spanning so many different historical epoques that it is hard to know where to start when describing all the different archaeological features of interest but, if you go there to have a look round, don’t forget to seek out the tiny Rue l’Androuno, so narrow that it is just wide enough for one, slim person to pass at a time and don’t forget your cameras! 

GASSIN - LE VILLAGE DES SORCIERES!

Legend has it that when Gassin and the surrounding area were in the grips of the plague, a strange creature would materialise at nightfall and go about the village, lighting candlewicks and brazieres in the deserted streets.  This creature carried the glowing coals cupped in its hands, but never burned itself.

It was thought that only a witch could be capable of this feat and Gassin therefore became known as “le village des sorcières” (the village of the witches).   RM

Articles from The Riviera Reporter Var Supplement, issue October/November 2007

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