Apt lies north ofAix-en-Provence and the riverDurance, in the valley of the riverCalavon, (also called the Coulon), and at the foot of the north-facing slopes of theLuberon mountain.
Apt has a hot-summermediterranean climate using theKöppen climate classification, with its relatively high rainfall bordering closely on ahumid subtropical climate. On average, Apt experiences 68.6 days per year with a minimum temperature below 0 °C (32.0 °F), 1.0 days per year with a minimum temperature below −10 °C (14.0 °F), 0.5 days per year with a maximum temperature below 0 °C (32.0 °F), and 57.7 days per year with a maximum temperature above 30 °C (86.0 °F). The record high temperature was 43.9 °C (111.0 °F) on June 28, 2019, while the record low temperature was −14.9 °C (5.2 °F) on February 12, 2012.[3]
Climate data for Apt (1991–2020 normals, extremes 2007–present)
Apt is the etymological source of theAptian, anage in thegeologic timescale, a subdivision of theEarly or Lower Cretaceousepoch orseries and encompasses the time from 125.0 ± 1.0Ma to 112.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), approximately.[4] The originaltype locality is in the vicinity of Apt. The Aptian was introduced in scientific literature by French palaeontologistAlcide d'Orbigny in 1840.
Apt was at one time the chief town of theVulgientes, a Gallic tribe; it was destroyed by theRomans about 125 BC and restored byJulius Caesar, who conferred upon it the titleApta Julia; it was much injured by theLombards and theSaracens, but its fortifications were rebuilt by thecounts of Provence.[5]
A traditional tale attributes the foundation of thebishopric of Apt to a saint named Auspicus, whomPope Clement I sent and who died a martyr in 102; but the first documented evidence of its existence is in the acts of theSynod of Arles of 314, at which Apt was represented by a priest and an exorcist. Early 5th-century bishop SaintCastor of Apt is mentioned in contemporary liturgical documents and in a 419 letter ofPope Boniface I. The diocese appears in documents of the same century as asuffragan ofAix. As a result of theconcordat of 15 July 1801 betweenPope Pius VII andNapoleon Bonaparte, the territory of the diocese was incorporated by thebullQui Christi Domini of 29 November of the same year mainly into thearchdiocese of Avignon, with some parishes going instead to thediocese of Digne.[6][7][8][9] No longer a residential bishopric, Apta (as it is called in Latin) is today listed by theCatholic Church as atitular see.[10]
Important manuscripts were found in Apt concerning music in the 12th/13th centuries. They are known as theApt Manuscript and theIvrea Codex. They containmotets andmass movements, all of which are polyphonic. Nine out of fourteen Motets byPhilippe de Vitry are recorded in the Ivrea Codex, a compilation of eighty-one compositions dating to 1360. It is purported to have been derived from the repertoire used in the Papal Palace atAvignon, since it is so close and offers a sampling of music from theArs Nova movement.
According to documentation, Jews lived in Apt as early as the second half of the 14th century. The earliest documentation ofJews in Apt is dated back to the second half of the 13th century, describing the prohibition of meat selling by Jews to Christians.[11] Columbia University Library owns a twelve documents collection of notarial written money lending transactions between Jews and Christians in Apt.One of them describes a transaction between a local Jew called Gartus Bonafossi and a Christian named Iohannes Raymundi.[12] Asynagogue was documented as soon as 1416, and around 15 Jewish families were listed by the tax register by 1420. By then, Apt became the fourth largest Jewish community ofProvence.[11] The Jewish quarter was situated by the nowadays Place du Postel, and the community itself was mentioned in the writings of the poetIsaac Gorni.
The council of Apt was held on 14 May 1365 in the cathedral of that city by the archbishops and bishops of the provinces ofArles,Embrun andAix-en-Provence, in the south of France. Twenty-eight decrees were published and eleven days ofindulgence were granted to those who would visit with pious sentiments the church of the Blessed Virgin in the Diocese of Apt on the feast of theExaltation of the Holy Cross and venerate there certain relics of the Cross.[13]
The chief object of interest is thechurch of Sainte-Anne (once the cathedral), the building of which was begun about the year 1056 on the site of a much older edifice, but not completed until the latter half of the 17th century.[5]
The town was formerly surrounded by massive ancient walls, but these have now been for the most part replaced by boulevards; many of its streets are narrow and irregular.[5]
Many Roman remains have been found in and near the town. A fine bridge, the Pont Julien, spanning the Coulon below the town, dates from 2 BC.[5] Archeologists and others now believe that the Pont Julien dates much later than the 2nd century
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Shahan, Thomas Joseph (1913). "Council of Apt". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
MANSI, Coll. Conc., XXVI, 445; MARTÈNE, Thes. nov. anecd. (1717), IV, 331-342; BOZE, Hist. de l'église d'Apt (Apt. 1820)
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