DK Travel : Normandy : History & Culture

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Manoir d’Ango

A glorious Italian Renaissance manor, built for polymath Jehan Ango in the early 16th century.
Marcel Proust

Proust was born in Paris in 1871 and died there in 1922. His A la recherche du temps perdu is permeated by memories of Normandy – perhaps most notably the Grand Hôtel at Cabourg, which he renamed Balbec.
Matilda

Whilst abroad, William left Normandy in the hands of his wife Matilda (c.1031–83).
Mont-St-Michel

Dramatically sited on a lone rock in the Bay of Mont-St-Michel, this famous abbey exerts a huge draw on the thousands who visit every year.
Mont-St-Michel and Chartres (Henry Brooks Adams)

Meditation on the medieval world as seen through its most famous cathedrals.
Operation Overlord (Max Hastings)

Goes beyond D-Day to cover the ensuing battles, viewing the conflict from both sides.
People on the Beach at Trouville (Boudin)

Painted in 1865. Exhibited at the Musée Eugène Boudin, Honfleur.
Pierre Corneille

The classical dramatist Pierre Corneille (1606–84) was born in Rouen. His plays Le Cid , Horace , Cinna and Polyeucte formed the yardstick for French tragedy, while Le Menteur is a comic masterpiece. His writing often reflects the tension between regional and national loyalties.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Monet’s great friend and fellow Impressionist, Renoir (1841–1919), did not discover Normandy until he came to the coast in 1879, the year he painted Cliffs at Pourville and Mussel Collectors at Berneval . Once Monet had settled in Giverny, Renoir was a regular visitor.
Pottery

With good-quality clay and a constant demand for jugs and mugs in which to serve cider and milk, there is a long tradition of pottery-making in Normandy. At the Musée de la Poterie in Ger (between Flers and Mortain), you can see how the craft has developed over 500 years, and watch a potter at work. In Noronla-Poterie near Bayeux, salt-glaze pottery has been made since the Middle Ages; several studios are still in operation. The painted earthenware of Forges-les-Eaux is on display in the Musée de Faïence there.