Roussillon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

The town of Roussillon stands on a hilltop of what was once a very productive world source of ochre for the pigment used in textiles during the 19th century. This is the follow-up to my April 1 post.

In recognition of the important part the ochre mining played in their history, they have built a nice park with a formal trail that provides informative signs along the pathways.

Many of the pine tree trunks were stained red from the wind-borne ochre dust as it pelted the gray bark.

Nice place for photos. A well-marked path winds through the woods and deposits, the wind whistling through the pines, snow-capped Mont Ventoux was visible to the north, the ochre often soft underfoot on the trail like a bed of pine needles

You can see the various shades of ochre tinge in the buildings in town.

Roussillon is another beautiful spot in an area filled with beauty - Provence.

Roussillon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

The village of Roussillon stands on a hilltop central to the Provence areas between the Luberon mountains to the south and the Plateau du Vaucluse to the north. It is famous for its rich ochre deposits that give the town its distinctive shades of red coloring.

Unlike other towns I've visited around here which are usually more of a golden/yellowish color, the warm red ochre tones here give a special feel to the buildings in this village.

Sometimes even the bicyclists slow down and walk through town to enjoy the views.

I don't know which is a newer doorway frame: door number one or door number two. I didn't realize that the keystone concept worked on a horizontal lintel - obviously it does. So does one piece of wood.

You can see some ochre peeking out of the hills just below town.  Roussillon is another of Provence's beautifully sited hill towns with glorious views inside and out.

I ran out of time on this day to walk through the old mining areas, now a conservation area/park.  I'll do that another time and in another blog post.