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“The operetta stars Marcel Merkès and Paulette Merval
had a long and impressive career.They met at Bordeaux
Music School. He was born there in 1920, she, a singer
and violinist, was a daughter of Aubeterre.We created this
museum
F
, near the house they owned in the village.
We have put together memorabilia retracing the couple’s
life.Their son Alain’s wonderful collection just had to be
shared with the public! He himself is a first prize-winner
for Operetta from the Bordeaux Music School.Today,
he hopes to organise a performing arts festival including
theatre, popular music and of course, operetta.”
“French Operetta’s
most famous couple”
Michèle Delmas,
Markès &Merval Museum
The village’s main square is named after Ludovic
Trarieux.Why, might one ask? This son of a landed
gentry man, later barrister and politician was the
founder of the League of Human Rights in 1898.
He was also the instigator of the revision trial
of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, wrongly accused
of treason in 1894.
The Birthplace
of Human Rights
© Hervé Lenain
© Patrice Hausser
Saint Jean’s underground church
A
, was hewn out of the
cliff in the XIIth century. The original purpose for this
huge vault, roughly 88ft long, 52ft wide and 65ft high,
was to house relics. A hundred and sixty tombs are visible
in a series of caves. The monolithic reliquary, patiently
carved out over ten years, is a replica of the Holy Sepulchre
discovered in Jerusalem during the First Crusade. This
deeply moving site is steeped in the history of Christian
devotion in the Middle Ages.
Like the Valley of Kings
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
© Glady Eluere de Brégeot
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24+1 VILLAGES OF PÉRIGORD
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