Cannes
town france
CANNES, a seaport of France, and the chief town of the department of Var on the Mediterranean, 15 miles S.W. of Nice and 25 miles N.E. of Draguignan, in 43° 34' N. lat. and 7° 0' E. long. It enjoys a southern exposure on a seaward slope, and is defended from the northern winds by ranges of hills.
Previous to 1831, when it first attracted the attention of Lord Brougham, it mainly consisted of the old quarter (named Sucquet), and had little to show except an ancient castle, and a church on the top of Mont Chevalier, dedicated in 1603 to NOtre Dame d'Esp6rance ; but since that period it has become a large and important town, and one of the most fashionable winter resorts in the south of
France, much frequented by English visitors. The neighbourhood is thickly studded with villas, which are solidly built of a stone so soft that it is sawn and not hewn. There is an excellent quay, and a beautiful promenade runs along the beach ; and numerous sheltered roads stretch up the valleys amidst groves of olive trees. On the top of the hill behind the town are a Roman Catholic and a
Protestant cemetery. In the most prominent part of the latter is the graVe of Lord Brougham, distinguished by a massive stone cross standing on a double basement, with the simple inscription - " Henricus Brougham, Natus luneer.xxvm., Decessit nincceLxvin.; " and in the immediate vicinity lies James, fourth duke of Montrose, who died December 1874. The country around is very beautiful and highly
fertile ; orange and lemon trees are cultivated like peach-trees in England, while olives, almonds, figs, peaches, grapes, and other fruits are grown in abundance, and, along with the produce of the fisheries, form the chief exports of the town. Essences of various kinds are manufactured, and flowers are extensively cultivated for the perfumers. The climate of Cannes has been the subject of a
considerable variety of opinion, - the preponderance being, however, in its favour. According to Dr De Valcourt, it is remarkable by reason of the elevation and regularity of the temperature during the height of the day, the clearness of the atmosphere and abundance of light, the rarity of rain and the absence of fogs. The following are a few of his numerous observations of winter temperature,
given in degrees Fab..: - Cannes is a
place of great antiquity, but its earlier history is very obscure. It was twice destroyed by the Saracens in the 8th and the 10t11 centuries ; but it was afterwards repeopled by a colony from Genoa. In 1815 Napelebn landed in the vicinity after his escape from Elba ; and opposite the town is the island of St Marguerite (one of the Lerins), in the citadel of which the Man with the Iron Mask was
confined front 1686 to 1698, and which has acquired a recent notoriety as the prison whence Marshal BaZaine escaped in August 1874. Population of the town in 1872, 9618. 
See De Valeourt's Cannes and its Climate, London, 1873, and Clinudologie des Stations Hivernales du Midi de in France, Paris, 1865.
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