X'ALLAURIS. 



completed il will be tlie shortest route between the south 

 of S^^•itzerUu^d and the health resorts of the Western 

 Riviera. The road o^'cr the Col di Tenda is said to be 

 the oldest that united the Gallic coast to the plains of 

 northern Itah. It is probabh^ the \'ia Flerculea which 

 was constructed b^■ the Phoenicians twelve or tliirteen 

 liundred \ ears before Christ in order to connect Spain 

 and North Italy b-\' a route across the Maritime ^Vlps. 



\'allauris. insignificant as it is. has jnanaged to achie\ e 

 a certain reputation. This it owes to its brighth' coloured 

 semi -porcelain ware, the "Faiences dWrt", which is to be 

 seen not onK' on the Ri\iera. but in shop \^-indows ol all 

 the larger luiropean towns. It is lead-glazed earthenware 

 baked in a \■er^' hot furnace. Tire Massier famih' are the 

 chief proprietors of this industry, and their name is to be 

 seen e\'er\where on the warehouses and the factories. The 

 large w"arehouse in GoUe jriuan particidarh' attracts the 

 attention of strangers as the\' drive along the dust\' high- 

 way- betN\x-en Cannes and ^Vntlbes, on acci")unt of its garden 

 gaih' ornamented — or rather disfigure'd — with coloured 

 faience ! 



,\lthough \'allauris has not mucli to boast of in it- 

 self the excursions among the hills in its neighbourhood 

 are most attractive. From \'allauris a'Ou can walk 

 through a pleasant ravine down to Golfe Jouan. or 

 through the wood on the slope of the hill, past Cannes- 

 Eden, straight back to Cannes. In the woods here Cork 

 Oaks are still numerous, \\'hile further east there are none, 

 ^rhis is due to the difference in the soil, for mica-schist 

 and gneiss crop up here and there, near Cannes and 



