(JHE) — The historic synagogue in Carpentras, the oldest active synagogue in France, will represent the southern Provence-Alpes-Côté d’Azur region in a French TV-sponsored competition for “France’s Favorite Monument.”
Thanks to a first-stage popular vote earlier this year, one historic monument was chosen to represent each of France’s 14 regions for the final competition — which is also being carried out by popular vote on the French TV-3 web site or by telephone.
You need to be at least 13 years old to take part. To vote by phone you must live in France, but it wasn’t clear to us if this also applied to voting on the web site. (See rules here). Voting will take place until midnight on July 22.
In the first round of the competition, the synagogue received more votes than the other two sites that were in the running to represent the Provence-Alpes-Côté d’Azur region — the ancient Roman Amphitheater at Arles, and another site related to Jewish history — the opulent Ephrussi de Rothschild Villa and Gardens at Saint- Jean-Cap-Ferrat, built between 1907 and 1912 by Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild.
The Carpentras synagogue was originally built in 1367. Jews had been expelled from the Kingdom of France in 1306 but found refuge in papal lands, or the Comtat Venaissin, where they were permitted to live in four towns: Carpentras, Cavaillon, Avignon, and l’Isle sur Sorgue.
In the 18th century the synagogue was expanded and its interior was reconstructed in baroque/rococo style, by Antoine D’Allemand, a local architect who carried out other major projects in the town, including its aqueduct. With teal-colored wooden walls, tromp l’oiell painted “marble,” and ornate ironwork, it resembles Italian synagogues of the same period.
The 14 spectacular monuments in the final competition range from a prehistoric site in Corsica to castles to abbeys, and more.
View the list and voting page on the French TV-3 web site
Read our post about the first round of the competition