Marciac
Encyclopedia
Marciac is a commune
in the Gers
department in southwestern France
. It is known for its annual international jazz
festival
, which runs for a fortnight every summer.
in the area - central village square with the town hall a main feature, with the village shops clustered along the four sides of the square. Wide arched pavements allow dining out of doors in the summer, when music is piped around the square. The town convent (now the town hall and cinema) and church steeples are lit up at night. The town is also home to many restaurants, including "Le Monde A L'Envers" (The World Upside Down), run by London chef Victoria Heath.
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 Gers
Gers
The Gers is a department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in the southwest of France named after the Gers River.Inhabitants are called les Gersois or Gersoises.-History:...
department in southwestern 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 known for its annual international jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
, which runs for a fortnight every summer.
Features
The town is characteristic of the bastidesBastides
Bastides are fortified new towns built in medieval Languedoc, Gascony and Aquitaine during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, although some authorities count Mont-de-Marsan and Montauban, which was founded in 1144, as the first bastides...
in the area - central village square with the town hall a main feature, with the village shops clustered along the four sides of the square. Wide arched pavements allow dining out of doors in the summer, when music is piped around the square. The town convent (now the town hall and cinema) and church steeples are lit up at night. The town is also home to many restaurants, including "Le Monde A L'Envers" (The World Upside Down), run by London chef Victoria Heath.
Population
Jazz
A great emphasis is placed on jazz in the town, which is taught as a regular subject in local schools. The town itself is known for its annual 'Jazz in Marciac' festival, held for a fortnight in August. A marquee ('le chapiteau') capable of seating 5,000(6,000) is erected on the rugby field, with( a concert every night) two concerts hosted there every night for the duration of the festival,and free music from 1100 till 2000 every day. Stalls selling a variety of related and non-related merchandise are erected in and around the centre of the village square, where free concerts are given during the day. Other musical events take place around the town at the same time, such as the 'Atelier de Jazz'.Personalities
- Jean LaforgueJean LaforgueJean Laforgue was a French scholar living in Dresden, mainly known for having edited and censored the first edition of Giacomo Casanovas memoirs, Histoire de ma vie....
, born in Marciac in 1782, is mainly known for having edited and censored the first edition (known as Edition Laforgue) of Giacomo CasanovaGiacomo CasanovaGiacomo Girolamo Casanova de Seingalt was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, Histoire de ma vie , is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of the customs and norms of European social life during the 18th century...
s memoirs, Histoire de ma vieHistoire de ma vieHistoire de ma vie is both the memoir and autobiography of Giacomo Casanova, a famous 18th century Italian adventurer...
.