On June 10, the Rochefort region will celebrate the centenary of the death of Pierre Loti, the naval officer who became a famous writer and academician (1850-1923). To walk in the footsteps of this tireless traveler has just been published a nice "travel diary" resulting in particular from a collaboration between several intercommunalities, those of Rochefort, Marennes and Saint-Porchaire.
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Because Julien Viaud – his real name – has walked these territories and evoked at length his memories in his work or his correspondence. This booklet thus proposes circuits of walks, from Rochefort where he was born in 1850 to the island of Oléron, where Pierre Loti finally chooses to be buried, in the house of his maternal ancestors.
"We are also following in the footsteps of his childhood, near Échillais, near Rochefort. Then in Saint-Porchaire where Marie Bon, his older sister artist-painter, owned a house. We pass by the castle of Roche-Courbon and its forest or in Marennes, "says Frédéric Chassebœuf, a historian from Rochefort who participated in the writing of this opus.
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This work was also dotted with old views, paintings and engravings in order to restore "the atmospheres and landscapes" perceived by Pierre Loti that he loved to portray so much in his writings. This travel diary, available free of charge online or in tourist offices, is finally full of quotes and extracts related to these different territories. "Not everyone has read Pierre Loti. It is an incentive to read or reread his works, "says Frédéric Chassebœuf.
Travel diary available online at www.agglo-rochefortocean.fr/