Rue Frédéric Mistral

Frédéric Mistral was born in September 1830 into a wealthy family in Maillane, in the south of France. Very impressed by the 1848 Revolution, which marked the proclamation of the Second Republic, the young man made Lamartine his hero. It was during this year of 1848 that he wrote his first poem, "Les Moissons". After his degree, during which he learned the history of Provence, he began to campaign for its independence and for the preservation of the Provençal language. He thus composed numerous works in the langue d'oc. "Mirèio" is his most important and will take him eight years of his life. This long poem which tells the love story between Mireille and Vincent was awarded a Nobel Prize. It was also adapted for the cinema by René Gaveau in 1933. During his years, the poet also devoted himself to his association "Félibrige" and wrote "Lou Tresor dou Felibrige", a dictionary of the langue d'oc. He died in 1914, in Maillane, his birthplace. His house was transformed into a museum. His friend Alphonse Daudet dedicated one of his "Letters from my mill" to him, "The Poet Mistral".