Sainte-Foy-l'Argentière
Encyclopedia
Sainte-Foy-l'Argentière is a commune
in the Rhône department in eastern France
.
It is located about 42 km (26.1 mi) from Lyon
.
The name means "Holy Faith, the silver-producer"; Sainte-Foy is equivalent to the common Spanish
place-name Santa Fé, and the reference is to the silver mines around which the village grew.
The village is clustered around a kilometre-long main street ("la grande rue"), rising from the busy crossroads at the bottom to the high school (collège). In the main square, linked to the church, there is a central castle belonging to Family de Fenoyl, a riverside football club and stadium sometimes visited by Olympique Lyonnais
in the pre-season, and a sports and entertainment centre (salle polyvalente). A popular antiques fair, which draws in crowds of thousands, is held every September, and there are other annual cultural activities.
The village's traditional and renowned main industry is roof tile manufacturing ("tuilerie").
The writer Bernard Clavel
once lived near the village; it is also mentioned in a San-Antonio novel (author Frédéric Dard
), and its tiny train station has been featured in various films.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Rhône department in eastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
It is located about 42 km (26.1 mi) from Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
.
The name means "Holy Faith, the silver-producer"; Sainte-Foy is equivalent to the common Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
place-name Santa Fé, and the reference is to the silver mines around which the village grew.
The village is clustered around a kilometre-long main street ("la grande rue"), rising from the busy crossroads at the bottom to the high school (collège). In the main square, linked to the church, there is a central castle belonging to Family de Fenoyl, a riverside football club and stadium sometimes visited by Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais is a French association football club based in Lyon. They play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. The club was formed as Lyon Olympique Universitaire in 1899, according to many supporters and sport historians, but was nationally established as a club in 1950. The...
in the pre-season, and a sports and entertainment centre (salle polyvalente). A popular antiques fair, which draws in crowds of thousands, is held every September, and there are other annual cultural activities.
The village's traditional and renowned main industry is roof tile manufacturing ("tuilerie").
The writer Bernard Clavel
Bernard Clavel
Bernard Charles Henri Clavel was a French writer.Clavel was born in Lons-le-Saunier. From a humble background, he was largely self-educated. He began working as a pastry cook apprentice when he was 14 years old. He later had several jobs until he began working as a journalist in the 1950s...
once lived near the village; it is also mentioned in a San-Antonio novel (author Frédéric Dard
Frédéric Dard
Frédéric Dard was a French writer and author of the San-Antonio series..-Biography:...
), and its tiny train station has been featured in various films.