Portrait of Camargue, 2021
From Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer to Arles, through the Camargue Regional Natural Park, from the salt flats of Aigues Mortes to the rice farms, photographer Paolo Verzone spent a year in the Camargue, an astonishing region where water and land are one.
The Rhone delta is a patchwork of marshes and alluvial plains, wet meadows, rice fields, canals, salt lakes and steppes. The landscape is permanently reshaped by the sea, the Rhone and the wind, and is confusing and rugged, contrasting with the calm of nearby Provence. Despite the sometimes harsh climatic conditions, this small triangle of nature in the South of France is home to thousands of pink flamingos, wild bulls and white horses that make up the identity of the region.
With just over 10,000 inhabitants, it is one of the least populated regions in Europe. The economy is organized around tourism but above all around agriculture, bull and horse breeding, rice and brushwood, salt and potatoes.
If the population is not numerous, the Camargue culture is particularly anchored in the habits and shaped by numerous customs.
Among them, the celebration of Saint George is one of the most important and ancient. The Saint patron of horsemen is celebrated on May 1st, during a day organized by the Confrérie des Gardians (Antico Counfrarié di Gardian de Bouvino e Roussatino) which was established in the year 1512. The Gardians and the Manades gather in traditional costumes for a prayer to Saint George and the blessing of the horses on the parvis, before marching through the city towards the ancient arena.
Proud of their heritage and traditions, the Gardians of today are no less attentive professionals in the breeding of bulls and horses of the Camargue breed. The farms and demonstration competitions organized during the year bear witness to the excellence and know-how bequeathed́ generation after generation.
With a culture rich in tradition and an exceptional territory, the Camargue has been progressively protected by the creation of a regional natural park in particular, and many research centers on fauna and flora have been created there.
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