Location

Aureille is located between the Alpilles mountain chain and the Crau plain some 8 km from Eyguières in the east and 8 km from Mouriès in the west. It is dominated by the Signal of Opiès, the highest point in the commune, in the north-east. It is a member of the communes of the Baux Valley but traditionally it is closer to the city of Arles.

Access

Aerial view of Aureille.

Road D17 passes through the commune south of the town from Eyguières in the east to Mouries in the west. Road D25A branches off this road in the commune and goes to the village then continues north to join the D25 just north of the commune.

The nearest motorway is the A54 autoroute (Nîmes - Salon-de-Provence) (E80) to the south with Exit 12 near Saint-Martin-de-Crau in the south-west or Exit 13 west of Salon-de-Provence in the south-east. There is also the A7 autoroute to the east which passes down the Rhone valley and connects Lyon to Marseille via Orange.

Marseille Provence Airport is the nearest international airport. There is also the Salon-de-Provence airbase just south of Salon-de-Provence town.^[4]

Geology

Geologically Aureille belongs to the Crau plain: its soil consists of Alluvium and pebbles. This type of soil is found throughout the Aureille plateau, to the point where it descends sharply at Mouriès. The soil composition is then modified, consisting of sloping deposits. The peaks north of Aureille, including the Tour des Opies, are very different from what is usually found in the Alpilles mountains. Although the soil at Opies is the same as the rest of the Alpilles, with a base of limestone Molasse, that of Opies dates to the Jurassic period while the Alpilles are more recent and date back to the Cretaceous (mainly Early Cretaceous).^[5]

Hydrography

Aureille is traversed by the Gaudre d'Aureille, a 12 km long stream,^[6] and also by the Gaudre de la Vallongue, which is 4.2 kilometres long.^[7] They both flow into the Étang de Berre.

The Gaudre de Romanin, a 9.4 km long sub-tributary of the Durance, also flows through the commune.^[8]

The Craponne Canal

The Arles branch of the Craponne Canal has irrigated the south of the commune since June 1582 which has allowed the commune to be a major producer of Crau hay.

The Baux Valley Canal crosses the commune to the north of the plain. This canal was built in 1914 following an intervention led by Paul Révoil, the Ambassador of France - who was from Mouriès, to cope with periods of drought which compelled more and more people from the Alpilles to move to Crau which was better irrigated.^[9]

Climate

The climate in Aureille, as in the Alpilles, is considered Mediterranean. The winters are mild and relatively wet while summers are hot and dry. The highest average temperatures occur in July and August (29 °C) while the lowest average temperatures occur in December and January (+3 °C).^[10] The month with the most rain is January with 7 days of rain on average against 2 days in July.^[10] The Alpilles region receives more rainfall than the coast of the Mediterranean: 500 mm/year in Camargue against 600 to 700 mm/year at Aureille.

Major frosts are rare although they were more frequent in the 19th century as evidenced by the many freezes of the Rhône which have been virtually unknown in the last century.

Comparison of local Meteorological data with other cities in France^[11]

Town	Sunshine (hours/yr)	Rain (mm/yr)	Snow (days/yr)	Storm (days/yr)	Fog (days/yr)
National average	1,973	770	14	22	40
Aureille[12]	-	580	2	20	8
Paris	1,661	637	12	18	10
Nice	2,724	767	1	29	1
Strasbourg	1,693	665	29	29	56
Brest	1,605	1,211	7	12	75

The mistral

The mistral blows violently from the north or north-west especially in winter and spring. The Alpilles deflect the wind, but Aureille does not benefit from its position to the south of the foothills of the massif and the wind blows almost as strong as in the north of the mountains. The mistral blows strongly on average 100 days a year and less strongly on 83 days which leaves only 182 days per year without wind.^[13]

There are two types of mistral: the "white mistral" which clears the entire sky and accentuates the brightness; and the "black mistral", which is rarer, that is accompanied by rain.

Flora and fauna

Flora

The flora in Aureille is essentially Xerophytic and Mediterranean. The botanist Bernard Girerd counted 800 plant species in 1992.^[15] Apart from the olive, which is characteristic of Aureille, there are the Celtis, the kermes oak (Quercus coccifera), and the Amelanchier.

Protected plant species such as the summer snowflake (Leucojum aestivum) and rock rose (Helianthemum lavandulaefolium) can be found at the bottom of the valleys.

Neighbouring communes and villages

^[16]

Prehistory and antiquity

In the period of the Hallstatt culture (from the 8th to the 6th centuries BC) prehistoric habitats continued to be inhabited, particularly in the Tardières valley^[20] although they had a stone rampart.^[21]

In the centuries before the Romans arrived, the territory of Aureille as with all of the Alpilles, was populated by Ligures, Celts, and Celto-Ligurians. Aureille was then probably part of the territory of the Nearchi, for whom Ernaginum formed the northern border, but also perhaps populated by Anatilii who lived to the north of Crau and for whom the Alpilles was the natural border.^[20] Proto-historic paths then connected the many oppida in the Alpilles and allowed the crossing of the mountains in a transverse direction.^[22] In the second part of the Hallstatt culture (7th to 6th centuries BC) the population became sedentary and began to build durable buildings. The castrum was structured in the manner of a village with its streets and terraced houses.^[22] This permanent settlement process happened in parallel with the intensification of trade with Mediterranean merchants.^[22] In exchange for luxury goods, Alpilles people produced grain and passed to a state of Autarky with a real trade economy.^[22] Over the following centuries, the population of Alpilles decreased consistently: the Greek trading post at Arles attracted many people from all over the region.^[22]

Although the Aureille area was inhabited since antiquity, it is conceivable that one of the Aurelius people had a villa. Germanic invasions desertified the area from the 5th century.^[23]

Middle Ages

From the 12th century the population returned. The village church of Sancta Maria de Auricula belonged to the Diocese of Arles. In 1224 a citizen of Arles, Bertrand Ybilion - the owner of the castrum, ceded it to the Arles community. Arles however could not occupy a territory so far away. Aureille became deserted, especially since the village regularly underwent the passage of free companies in the 14th century.^[24]

Renaissance

It was not until 31 May 1604 that the village became populated again. Louise d'Ancézune, Lady of Saint-Chaumont, bought three quarters of the land of Aureille from the Consulate of Arles for the sum of 23,820 Écus. As the widow of Saint-Christophe de Chaumont, first Baron of Lyonnais, she possessed a considerable fortune. "Because the land had been left for over two hundred years and was uncultivated desert, the said Madame de Saint-Chaumont desires to build some houses there and make it fertile and well cultivated".^[23][25]

That is how the village came to be repopulated. Settlers came to live there encouraged by tax incentives that were offered. Between 1608 and 1620 twenty families became established in Aureille at whose head were Antoine Payan and Antoine Escarioly, inhabitants of Eyguières. These families lived at Eyguières but were from the Alps (Gap, Sisteron, Barcelonnette, the Dauphiné, or, closer, the region of Apt). Uncultivated land was cleared and the breeding of goats and sheep was practiced. The Lord maintained herds of horses and cattle.^[23]

Modern period

In 1792 when the Committee of Public Safety reproved the Aureille community for not having reported suspects to them and called into doubt the civic-mindedness of the inhabitants. The response from Aureille was: "Our community is a small population composed of people employed solely in working on the land. Always firm in republican principles we are ready to support you until the last breath. There has never been any suspect among us, so we do not therefore intend to send any tabulation on this subject".^[26]

The Aureille community endured several episodes of plague and cholera, especially during the 19th century.

Contemporary period

From 1970 the village has provided utilities which gave Aureille new impetus and a significant increase in the population. In October 1989 a major fire ravaged 1,500 hectares of the Alpilles most of which was in the commune.

Heraldry

Arms of Aureille

Blazon: Party per pale, first of Gules with a tower ported of Or embattled of 3 pieces and masonned of Sable, second of Or a lion sejant erect of Gules.

Twinning

Aureille has twinning associations with:^[28]

• Carisio (Italy) since 1987.

Distribution of Age Groups

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Aureille and Bouches-du-Rhône Department in 2017

Source: INSEE^[30][31]

Agriculture

Agriculture is very active in Aureille with the growing of fruit and vegetables and Crau hay which is animal feed protected by an AOC (31 May 1997).

Sheep farming is common in the commune as with many other communes in the Alpilles.

The commune produces Olive oil from the Valley of Baux-de-Provence which has been protected by an Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) since 27 August 1997. The varieties of olives that fall within the AOC are Salonenque, beruguette, Grossane, and verdale des Bouches-du-Rhône.^[32] Crushed olives and black olives are also produced under the INAO order. The varieties of broken olives proposed for marketing are salonenque and Béruguette. For black olives the only variety that is accepted is Grossane.^[33][34]

Tourism

Apart from agriculture the main economic activity around the Alpilles is tourism. Even the wine and olive oil producers take into account the development of tourism and increasingly the farms offer tasting and in some cases courses in Oenology.

There are three main types of tourism in the Alpilles:

• historical and cultural tourism that relies on the rich heritage (Baux-de-Provence, Glanum, etc..) and festivals.
• relaxation tourism which has resulted in a significant expansion of B&Bs, hotels and seasonal rental accommodation through a high concentration of swimming pools and entertainment such as the Provencal markets.
• green tourism that has many hiking trails and protected areas in the mountains and their surroundings.

There are many tourist apartments and hotels in the commune.

Education

The town has a public nursery school and a public elementary school.

Health

The town has a doctor, but no pharmacy. The nearest ones are about 6 kilometres away at Eygalières or Mouriès.

The nearest hospital is about 11 km away in Sénas commune.

Sports

There are two playing fields south of the town.

The GR 6 passes through the commune and the village from east to west and several other paths are available for hiking.

Worship

There is Catholic worship in the parish church.

Environment

Treatment of waste from households and similar waste is managed by the Community of communes of the Baux Valley.