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Le Lavandou |
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Le Lavandou
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
| Department | Var |
| Arrondissement | Toulon |
| Canton | Collobrières |
| Mayor | Gil Bernardi (2008–2014) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 0–485 m (0–1,591 ft) (avg. 10 m/33 ft) |
| Land area1 | 29.65 km2 (11.45 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 2,867 (2006) |
| - Density | 97 /km2 (250 /sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 83070/ 83980 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Le Lavandou (pronounced: [lə lavɑ̃du]; Occitan: Lo Lavandor) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It derives its name either from the flower lavender (lavanda in Provençal) that is prevalent in the area[1], or more prosaicly from the local form of the Occitan name for lavoir, lavandor (for lavador, a public place for washing clothes).
The (then) village is where the famous popular song A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square was written in the summer of 1939.[2] The words were by Eric Maschwitz and the music by Manning Sherwin, with its title ‘stolen’ from a story by Michael Arlen. The song had its first performance in a local bar, where the melody was played on piano by Manning Sherwin with the help of the resident saxophonist. Maschwitz sang the words while holding a glass of wine, but nobody seemed impressed. [3]
In the spring of 2002, at attempt was made to find the bar where this classic song was first performed with the view to having a blue plaque set up. With the help of the local tourist office, elderly residents were questioned, but it proved impossible to establish the venue.[2]
In September 2000, the mayor passed an unusual bylaw making it illegal to die in the town. The mayor described his own bylaw as "absurd ... to counter an absurd situation"; the "absurd situation" was that with the town's cemetery already full, a court in Nice had denied permission for a new cemetery because it would mar the beauty of the selected site.[4]