The term Riviera evokes images of a shimmering sea, glamorous wealth and days on sunny beaches but it is much more than this. Behind the overcrowded coastal strip lies a host of pristine landscapes: jagged ridges, deep gorges, mountain lakes and larch forests that become golden in the Fall. Then there are the perched villages that have changed little since medieval times.
And this 'back country' has compelling stories to tell. Bronze Age farmers struggled up the forbidding Mount Bego to leave thousands of engravings of weapons, tools and mysterious religious figures. Famous generals such as Hannibal and Napoleon led their armies through the snow and some of the most violent religious wars were fought here. But the story is not all about wars for the area abounds in small chapels with frescoes of outstanding beauty. Yet despite these attractions and the closeness to Nice this high country is rarely visited by tourists.
From our base at Bar-sur-Loup we have made many journeys into this hidden corner of France. Each became a voyage of discovery of little- known landscapes, people and places touched by history. Illustrated with maps and drawings this book is an account of some of these journeys.