Levens, Alpes-Maritimes
Levens | |
|---|---|
The village of Levens, seen from the west with the Cime du Gélas in the background | |
|
Coat of arms | |
Location of Levens | |
Levens Levens | |
| Coordinates: 43°51′42″N 7°13′31″E / 43.8617°N 7.2253°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| Department | Alpes-Maritimes |
| Arrondissement | Nice |
| Canton | Tourrette-Levens |
| Intercommunality | Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Antoine Véran[1] |
Area 1 | 29.85 km2 (11.53 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 5,366 |
| • Density | 180/km2 (470/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 06075 /06670 |
| Elevation | 121–1,414 m (397–4,639 ft) (avg. 600 m or 2,000 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Levens (French pronunciation: [ləvɛ̃s]; Italian: Levenzo) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes département in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, a region in southeastern France.
Its inhabitants are called Levensans (or Levensois).
Name
There are three possible explanations of the origin of the name:[3]
- From the name of the Leponti tribe, which was changed to Leventi during the Roman period;
- From the name of a notable Roman figure, Laevinus;
- From the Ligurian word stem lev, indicating a sloping landscape;
Geography
The village, built on high rocky ground, is located at an altitude of 600 metres. It lies in the centre of the district, which stretches from the plain of the Var (Plan-du-Var hamlet) to the Férion range. Mount Férion is 1,400 metres high.
Gallery
Climate
On average, Levens experiences 22.3 days per year with a minimum temperature below 0 °C (32.0 °F), no days per year with a minimum temperature below −10 °C (14.0 °F), 0.5 days per year with a maximum temperature below 0 °C (32.0 °F), and 5.5 days per year with a maximum temperature above 30 °C (86.0 °F). The record high temperature was 35.1 °C (95.2 °F) on 28 June 2019, while the record low temperature was −7.8 °C (18.0 °F) on 6 February 2012.[4]
| Climate data for Levens (1991–2020 normals, extremes 2008–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 18.8 (65.8) |
18.6 (65.5) |
22.2 (72.0) |
25.2 (77.4) |
29.7 (85.5) |
35.1 (95.2) |
33.3 (91.9) |
33.6 (92.5) |
30.6 (87.1) |
25.5 (77.9) |
20.0 (68.0) |
20.2 (68.4) |
35.1 (95.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9.1 (48.4) |
9.5 (49.1) |
12.5 (54.5) |
15.7 (60.3) |
18.8 (65.8) |
23.2 (73.8) |
26.3 (79.3) |
26.8 (80.2) |
22.7 (72.9) |
17.9 (64.2) |
12.9 (55.2) |
9.9 (49.8) |
17.1 (62.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.5 (41.9) |
5.6 (42.1) |
8.4 (47.1) |
11.5 (52.7) |
14.5 (58.1) |
18.7 (65.7) |
21.5 (70.7) |
21.8 (71.2) |
18.0 (64.4) |
13.9 (57.0) |
9.3 (48.7) |
6.3 (43.3) |
12.9 (55.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.8 (35.2) |
1.7 (35.1) |
4.3 (39.7) |
7.3 (45.1) |
10.2 (50.4) |
14.2 (57.6) |
16.7 (62.1) |
16.9 (62.4) |
13.4 (56.1) |
10.0 (50.0) |
5.7 (42.3) |
2.6 (36.7) |
8.7 (47.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −4.5 (23.9) |
−7.8 (18.0) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
2.5 (36.5) |
6.7 (44.1) |
9.9 (49.8) |
10.1 (50.2) |
4.5 (40.1) |
0.3 (32.5) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
−6.9 (19.6) |
−7.8 (18.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 69.4 (2.73) |
82.7 (3.26) |
98.6 (3.88) |
96.7 (3.81) |
69.5 (2.74) |
53.6 (2.11) |
23.5 (0.93) |
19.5 (0.77) |
49.9 (1.96) |
123.7 (4.87) |
174.1 (6.85) |
120.9 (4.76) |
982.1 (38.67) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 5.2 | 6.8 | 6.3 | 7.3 | 6.8 | 6.4 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 4.7 | 6.3 | 9.2 | 6.5 | 71.2 |
| Source: Meteociel[4] | |||||||||||||
Population
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 1,299 | — |
| 1975 | 1,422 | +1.30% |
| 1982 | 1,800 | +3.42% |
| 1990 | 2,686 | +5.13% |
| 1999 | 3,700 | +3.62% |
| 2007 | 4,503 | +2.49% |
| 2012 | 4,761 | +1.12% |
| 2017 | 4,738 | −0.10% |
| Source: INSEE[5] | ||
Mayors
| Period | Identity | Party | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Antoine Véran | ||
| 1991 1994 | Léon-Pierre Raybaud | ||
| 1929 1991 | Joseph Raybaud | Senator of the Alpes-Maritimes | |
| 1903 1929 | Jean Giletta | ||
| 1896 1903 | Léon Sauvan | ||
| 1882 1896 | Joseph Faraut | ||
| 1878 1882 | Louis Ciais | ||
| 1871 1878 | Victor Masséglia | ||
| 1870 1871 | Joseph Faraut | ||
| 1865 1870 | Louis Barriéra | ||
| 1860 1865 | Honoré Baudouin | ||
| Before the 1860 incorporation of County of Nice into France, Levens and the County of Nice were part of the Piedmont-Sardinia kingdom. | |||
Tourism
Levens is one of sixteen villages grouped together by the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur tourist department as the Route des Villages Perchés (Route of Perched Villages). The others are: Aspremont, Carros, Castagniers, Coaraze, Colomars, Duranus, Èze, Falicon, La Gaude, Lantosque, La Roquette-sur-Var, Saint-Blaise, Saint-Jeannet, Tourrette-Levens and Utelle.[6]
See also
References
- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
- ^ "Populations de référence 2022" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 19 December 2024.
- ^ Trouillot (Paule et Jean), Guide historique des 163 communes des Alpes-Maritimes et de Monaco, imprimerie la Toscane, Nice, 2006, page 140, (ISBN 2-9514405-5-3).
- ^ a b "1991–2020 Normals and Records – Station: Levens". Meteociel.fr. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
- ^ "The route of perched villages" (PDF). Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur. 2013.
External links
- Levens' anthem.
- Some chimes and knells from the County of Nice: tirignoun (chime) and clar (knell) from Levens.