Lacoste, Vaucluse still. The oldest building in the town, the Maison Forte, dates back to the 9th century while the nearby Pont Julien remains one of the oldest standing examples of a working 1st century B.C. Roman bridge. Finnbar Mac Eoin, author of "Two Suitcases And A Dog" lives in Lacoste. He was the last person to drive across The Pont Julien before it closed to traffic in 2005. A plaque states, "We do not know who was the first person to cross, but an Irishman was the last". Lacoste is best known for its most notorious resident, Donatien Alphonse Francois comte
Joseph-Alphonse-Omer de Valbelle Joseph-Alphonse-Omer de Valbelle Joseph-Alphonse-Omer de Valbelle (1729-1818) was a French aristocrat and military officer. Joseph-Alphonse-Omer de Valbelle was born on 18 June 1729 in Aix-en-Provence. His father was André Geoffroy de Valbelle and his mother, Marguerite-Delphine de Valbelle. He had a brother, Joseph-Ignage-Cosme de Valbelle, and a sister, Anne Alphonsine de Valbelle. He served as a mestre de camp in 1749, maréchal de camp in 1762, followed by Lieutenant general of Provence. After his brother's death in 1766, he inherited the marquisates of Tourves, Rians, Montfuron, Bressuire, the Baronetcies of Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise and Meyrargues, the Countom of Oraison, Valbelle, Sainte-Tulles, Cadarache,