Saint-Savournin

Saint-Savournin (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ savuʁnɛ̃]; Occitan: Sant Savornin) is a commune east of Marseille at the eastern extremity of the Massif de l'Étoile between Cadolive and Mimet in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France.

History

Signs of Neolithic settlement have been found and extensive evidence of human habitation during the Gallo-Roman centuries has been identified.

Medieval Saint-Savournin was a village that made its living from the land, rearing sheep and goats and cultivating olives.

Name

The commune's name originated from the first church in the area, seen in writings donated to the Abbey of Saint-Victor in 1010. The church was known as Sanctus Saturninus at the time and was most likely built on the ruins of a temple dedicated to Saturn. In the 16th century, Saint-Saturnin became Saint-Savournin following the ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts in 1539 which prescribed the writing in French of all official acts.

Population

In the 19th century, Italian immigration encouraged the growth of the population, particularly in La Valentine, thanks to the industrial activity around the mines. Most of the Italians came from the village of Moiola in Piedmont . A friendship pact was signed between the two villages on April 29, 1979.