Valence (Occitan Valença) is a commune in south-eastern France, the capital of the department of Drôme, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, 65 miles (105 km) south of Lyon on the railway to Marseille. Its inhabitants are called Valentinois or the Valentinoises. Valence was a part of the French Towns and Lands of Art and History and the city received four flowers in the Concours des villes et villages fleuris. Formerly the duchy of Valentinois...
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Valence (Occitan Valença) is a commune in south-eastern France, the capital of the department of Drôme, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, 65 miles (105 km) south of Lyon on the railway to Marseille. Its inhabitants are called Valentinois or the Valentinoises. Valence was a part of the French Towns and Lands of Art and History and the city received four flowers in the Concours des villes et villages fleuris. Formerly the duchy of Valentinois, it was ruled by the Duke of Valentinois, a title which is still claimed by the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, though he has no actual administrative control over the area.
Known in Roman times as Valentia Julia, the city had been the capital of the Segalauni, and the seat of a celebrated school prior to the Roman conquest. It became a colony under Augustus, and was an important town of Viennensis Prima under Valentinian I. It was the seat of a bishopric perhaps as early as the 4th century.
In the fifth century, control of Valentia passed from...
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