TRADITIONS – THE BRAVADES

Good news for this Spring 2022: the "Bravades" are back in the Gulf of Saint Tropez! The village of La Garde Freinet will open " the ball " of the tromblonnades, tributes and processions which will follow one another during a good fortnight in the four corners of the Gulf of Saint Tropez. But in fact, where do these military-religious celebrations come from, which take place every year in our villages? Provençal customs, but not only, (since they are also found in the Algerian Sahara), the Bravades have a history that goes back several centuries. A little history... The bravades are very old traditions, which were intended to channel the young men of the villages at the time of the rites of passage from youth to adulthood (by the handling of weapons in particular), the whole corresponding also to votive festivals. The town captains had above all a police role with the young people, especially in Cogolin and La Garde-Freinet. The first traces of bravade can be found in the 17th and 18th centuries in Cogolin, Sainte-Maxime and La Garde-Freinet, with tromblonnades and religious processions. The Maximoise bravade was mainly dedicated to the Patron Saint, the Saint Tropez bravade is more about the defensive aspect of Saint Tropez with the exemplary manifestation of the attachment of the Tropezians to their glorious military past and to their deep devotion to their Patron Saint. Saint-Tropez offers a particular look, because of its antiquity and the defensive role of its militia, since the town was at the outposts of the Gulf. It is also particular because of the constancy and longevity of its development. It was only interrupted, forcibly and briefly, during major crises or wars. Its first city captains were appointed as early as 1511, but the appointment in council of the community dates from 1558. The other bravades of the Gulf, which were somewhat lost after the second half of the 19th century, were revived in 1968 in Sainte-Maxime, 1983 in La Garde-Freinet and 1997 in Cogolin. The Provençal traditions, which have become so alive again in the Gulf of Saint Tropez, have emerged from a long historical past, with sociological and religious foundations. Our Beautiful TRADITIONS 🤩 To be seen and experienced 😍👀👂beware of the "tromblons" firing Bravade de la Saint-Clément in La Garde-Freinet 30 April 22 Bravade of Cogolin 05 to 06 May 22 Bravade of Sainte-Maxime 14 and 15 May 22 Bravade of Saint-Tropez 16 to 18 May 22