Monuments to the Dead of the War 1914-1918 in Paca
In France, out of about 30,000 war memorials from 1914-18, only about 15 were protected as historic monuments in 2007.
This is why the regional conservation of historical monuments Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur wanted to study this theme between 2007 and 2010 in order to protect the most representative. The goal is also to make elected officials aware of this theme so that they integrate it into their urban planning document as a remarkable element of heritage.
Only the monuments erected by the municipal authority for the dead of its municipality, usually on the public area or in the cemetery, have been taken into account and contain a minimum of decoration. The census was conducted with the help of ONAC (National Office of Veterans and War Victims) and Souvenir Français.
The creation of a database has made it possible to establish a selection based on different criteria: form, subject, originality, notoriety of the artist, in particular.
Monuments to the dead of the Great War can be classified by forms or compositions and by subjects and ornamentations. The most widespread forms are the obelisk or pyramid, the stele, the statue or the group carved on a pedestal. Some monuments have multiple architectural or sculptured compositions or atypical forms.
The most common topics are the Hairy, the rooster, thefemale allegory : Victory, Homeland, France, City, and civil figures. Decorative motifs accentuate the symbolism. Thus:
- the war cross, recognition of courage and reward for sacrifice
- the oak branchsymbol of moral and physical strength, divinization,
- the olive branch, sign of peace, of reward,
- the bay branchsymbol of immortality acquired by victory,
- the arms of the soldier representing the inner virtues of the hero,
- the helmetsymbol of invulnerability, power and invisibility,
- the palm, reward of the victor and symbol of immortality for Christians,
- the flag,
- the mortuary crown,
- thefunerary urn,
- the flame.
13 monuments inscribed or classified under historical monuments illustrate the different categories mentioned above and are all original works sculpted by statuaries known both regionally and nationally.
Eventually, the monuments of all the municipalities of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region should be illustrated.
This folder provides access to:
- the entire iconography concerning each monument - PatrImages
- to protective notices
- and records in the national database Mérimée.
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