Utelle
Utelle (French pronunciation: [ytɛl]; Occitan: Uels; Italian: Utello) is a commune about 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.
Utelle | |
|---|---|
 A view of Utelle from a nearby hillside | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Utelle | |
  Utelle  Utelle | |
| Coordinates: 43°55′07″N 7°14′53″E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| Department | Alpes-Maritimes |
| Arrondissement | Nice |
| Canton | Tourrette-Levens |
| Intercommunality | Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Yves Gilli[1] |
| Area 1 | 67.97 km2 (26.24 sq mi) |
| Population | 863 |
| • Density | 13/km2 (33/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 06151 /06450 |
| Elevation | 126–2,080 m (413–6,824 ft) (avg. 800 m or 2,600 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Geography
It is perched on a hill along the Vesubie Gorge not far from the Mercantour National Park.
Sights
Formerly an agricultural village planted with numerous olive trees, the village is near the Madonne d'Utelle, a chapel that serves as an annual pilgrimage site for local Catholics. In their 1997 book "The Templar Revelation," Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince mention (on pg. 82) "the old Templar town of Utelle, whose medieval houses still bear the esoteric sigils of the alchemists..." It is one of sixteen villages grouped together by the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur tourist department as the Route des Villages Perchés (Route of Perched Villages). The others are: Aspremont, Carros, Castagniers, Coaraze, Colomars, Duranus, Èze, Falicon, La Gaude, Lantosque, Levens, La Roquette-sur-Var, Saint-Blaise, Saint-Jeannet and Tourrette-Levens.[3]
Population
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 506 | — |
| 1968 | 516 | +2.0% |
| 1975 | 451 | −12.6% |
| 1982 | 398 | −11.8% |
| 1990 | 456 | +14.6% |
| 1999 | 488 | +7.0% |
| 2008 | 693 | +42.0% |
References
- "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
- "Populations légales 2020". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2022.
- "The route of perched villages" (PDF). Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur. 2013.
External links
- (in English and French) & (Occitan) Chimes from County of Nice : tirignoun (chime) from Utelle.
