Wednesday 2 July 2014
Giverny is a commune in the Eure department in
northern France. It is best known as the location of Claude Monet's garden and
home. A settlement has existed in Giverny since neolithic times and a monument
uncovered attests to this fact. Archeological finds have included booties
dating from Gallo-Roman times and to the earlier 1st and 2nd centuries AD. The
town was known in ancient deeds as "Warnacum". The cultivation of
grapes has been an occupation of the inhabitants of Giverny since Merovingian
times. The village church dates from the Middle Ages and is built partially in
the Romanesque style, though additions have since been made. It is dedicated to
Sainte-Radegonde. The village has remained a small rural setting with a modest
population (numbering around 301 in 1883 when Monet discovered it) and has
since seen a boom in tourism since the restoration of Monet's house and
gardens. Source
