“Vitrolles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence”

Destinations By Brian Wilkes

Vitrolles is adjacent to Aix-en-Provence and near Marseille. The sun sets to the west beyond the usually placid Étang de Berre lagoon, giving a calm ending to most days. At right is a portion of the medieval Sarrasene Tower, from which local defenders kept watch for the return of the ocean-going Saracen plunderers, a word used for the Arab-Persian-Turkic pirates that tormented the Mediterranean. A scene of calm with a history of imminent violence.