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The Ochre Cliffs of Roussillon
Just like Gordes and Baux de Provence, Roussillon is one of the most beautiful villages of France. A few kilometres from Bélézy, this provencal village with picturesque narrow streets and terraces is home to former ochre quarries that have given it such unique colours.
Even if the mining stopped at the end of the last century, these quarries still have a great influence over the whole village. In the streets, on the ochre trail or at the Ochre Conservatory, the infinite palette of colours reflects the past of this exceptional area everywhere you turn.
Official Roussillon website
The ochre industry, from its heyday to its decline
It was an inhabitant of Roussillon who, in 1780, discovered by chance the colouring properties of this earth. He thus became the first "ochre worker" of France.
The mining started straight away and intensified rapidly. Ochre pigment was used as much for the manufacturing of rendering for houses as for the rind of certain cheeses, brown paper or even cosmetics.
In 1900, there were 15 companies in the Vaucluse that employed over 1000 workers and produced 40,000 tonnes of ochre, mainly for export.
But the 20th century saw the rapid decline of this industry, due to the appearance of synthetic colourings, that were much less expensive to produce. From this golden age, only one company remains which is established in Apt.