| Page Views: 1,516 Last Visit to Toulouse: August, 2006 | THE WEALTH OF TOULOUSE. by breughel - last update: Jul 9, 2008 |
FROM BLUE TO PINK. During the 15th and 16th century Toulouse experienced a surge of prosperity. The mild climate and moderate soil proved a perfect combination for the growing of pastel - a plant called Isatis Tinctoria (Woad) from which a rich blue dye was produced.
Once harvested and crushed, pastel provided a paste that was shaped into small balls called "coques” or "cocagnes" From this derived the "le pays de Cocagne" or "the Land of Plenty"
The “pastel” was immensely successful in all the courts of Europe. Enormous fortunes were made in a few years. The newly rich used their wealth, which came from blue, to buy things pink. Toulouse has over 30 pink beautiful Renaissance town mansions that were built by the families that controlled the pastel business. |
| "Pastel" or Woad flowers. |
But an end came to that Golden Age: Indigo, a much less expensive dye, arrived from central and south America, wiping out the pastel trade.
Surprising with blue is that for centuries blue was a colour to be avoided. The ancient Romans associated it with the Barbarians who coloured their bodies blue before they went into battle.
In the 15th century blue began to show up in the stained glass windows of important churches. Statues and paintings of the Virgin Mary that had usually been in red started coming in blue.
Nowadays, the prosperity of Toulouse is coming from the aeronautic industry. |
"TIP GROUP EDITOR" Depuis l'origine de VT votre bonne ville de Toulouse est sans "Tip group editor" c'est à dire le volontaire qui groupe les "tips" par sujet d'intérêt pour leur assurer une meilleure visibilité.
J'ai posé ma candidature avec l'approbation d'un authentique Toulousain Claude "Klod5" qui a beaucoup écrit sur ce site. Comme j'étais le seul candidat, VT m'a pris et j'ai commencé à créer des groupes et rassembler vos "tips" par sujet.
AUCUN RATING NE SERA PERDU dans cette opération.
J'ai constaté une chose remarquable sur ce site VT de Toulouse: c'est un des très rares sites bilingues anglais/français et c'est bien sympa!
Since several years a nice town like Toulouse has no editor (the guy who groups your tips according to their subject).
I started this job and hope to improve the visibility of your tips by opening a number of specific groups.
NO RATINGS ARE LOST.
Best regards,
Breughel new tip group editor. |
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 Comments for breughel about Toulouse | | | | |
hquittner Sun Aug 9, 2009 18:14 UTC
We have finally arrived (virtually) at Toulouse and are visiting the fabulous St.-Sernin's Basilica. You have set this up the right way. | scottishvisitor Fri Jul 18, 2008 21:22 UTC
I to like Cities where rivers run through = enjoyed your updated tips! | Jefie Wed Jul 16, 2008 21:13 UTC
Toulouse est l'une des villes qui me donnent le goût de retourner en France! En attendant de pouvoir y aller moi-même, merci de me la faire découvrir grâce à vos excellents tips! | wandeljp Sat Apr 19, 2008 15:04 UTC
Encore un joli travail, fameusement réussi: le souci du détail, la précision des présentation et la qualité des photos donnent a l'humble lecteur que je suis d'aller voir de plus près toutes ces jolies choses |
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