Sainte-Foy-l'Argentière
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Commune of Sainte-Foy-l'Argentière |
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| Location | |
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Rhône-Alpes |
| Department | Rhône |
| Arrondissement | Lyon |
| Canton | Saint-Laurent-de-Chamousset |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 417 m–480 m (avg. 423 m) |
| Land area¹ | 1.54 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
1,167 |
| - Density | 757/km² (1999) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 69201/ 69610 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
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Sainte-Foy-l'Argentière is a little village and commune of the Rhône département, located about 42 km from Lyon (often spelt Lyons in English).
The name means "Holy Faith, the silver-producer"; Sainte-Foy is equivalent to the common Spanish place-name Santa Fé, and the reference is to the silver mines around which the village grew.
The village is clustered around a kilometer-long main street ("la grande rue"), rising from the busy crossroads at the bottom to the high school (collège). There is a central castle, linked to the church, in the main square, a riverside football club and stadium sometimes visited by Olympique Lyonnais in the pre-season, and a sports and entertainment centre (salle polyvalente). A popular antiques fair, which draws in crowds of thousands, is held every September, and there are other annual cultural activities.
The village's traditional and renowned main industry is roof tile manufacturing ("tuilerie").
The writer Bernard Clavel once lived near the village; it is also mentioned in a San-Antonio novel (author Frédéric Dard), and its tiny train station has been featured in various films.
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