Tag Archives: Mona Lisa

One Should Never Leave Montauban

Posted on 08/03/2020 by nessafrance

“On ne devrait jamais quitter Montauban!”, is one of the immortal lines spoken by Lino Ventura in the classic film, Les Tontons Flingeurs (lit. The Gun-Toting Uncles, 1963). Having renounced a life of crime to sell agricultural equipment in Montauban, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged Bourdelle, Ingres, Les Tontons Flingeurs, Lino Ventura, Mona Lisa, Montauban, Musée Ingres-Bourdelle, Olympe de Gouges, SW France | 2 Comments

From Monks to Mona Lisa: L’Abbaye de Loc-Dieu

Posted on 25/08/2019 by nessafrance

Imagine a place the locals dreaded so much that they named it locus diaboli, the devil’s place. A lonely, remote spot near the major trade route between Rodez and Cahors, with dark woods bristling with bandits lying in wait. And … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged Abbaye de Beaulieu en Rouergue, Abbaye de Loc-Dieu, Cistercian monastery, Hundred Years War, Leonard Da Vinci, Mona Lisa, SW France | 12 Comments

When the Mona Lisa Smiled on the Aveyron

Posted on 05/07/2011 by nessafrance

Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is arguably the most famous painting in the world. Now permanently exhibited in the Louvre in Paris, it is probably one of the best travelled as well. It even had a brief sojourn in southwest … Continue reading →