Provence Provence Provence (, ; ; "Prouvènço" , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône River to the west to the Italian border to the east, and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It largely corresponds with the modern administrative "région" of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, and includes the "départements" of Var, Bouches-du-Rhône, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and parts of Alpes-Maritimes and Vaucluse. The largest city of the region is Marseille. The Romans made the region the first Roman province beyond the Alps and called it "Provincia Romana", which
Les Baux-de-Provence Les Baux-de-Provence Les Baux-de-Provence (; Occitan: "Lei Bauç de Provença") is a French commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the province of Provence in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southern France. It has a spectacular position in the Alpilles mountains, set atop a rocky outcrop that is crowned with a ruined castle overlooking the plains to the south. Its name refers to its site: in Provençal, a "bauç" is a rocky spur. The name bauxite (Aluminium ore) is derived from the village name when it was first discovered there by geologist Pierre Berthier in 1821. It has been named one