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Famous celebrities in the commune

Pierre MONTET, Egyptian specialist

Pierre Montet was born in 1885 in Villefranche-sur-Saône (Rhône). After studying Egyptology in Lyons, he left his home town in February 1910 to travel to Alexandria. He then embarked on a series of missions including trips to Byblos, and the discovery of the tomb of Ahiram and the oldest alphabet, and to Tanis in the Nile Delta, where Pierre Montet discovered a treasure in the untouched tombs of the Pharaohs from the 21st and 22nd dynasties. He shared his time between Paris, Egypt and Blacé, where he had property inherited from his parents. He liked to come here with his wife and three daughters. He died in Paris in 1966 covered with honour and glory.

In 1998, the town hall and library of Blacé rendered homage to Pierre Montet in the form of an exhibition and in the presence of members of his family. Two conferences given by Professor Jean Yoyotte and Professor Jean-Claude Goyon delighted the vast numbers of participants.

Louis and Eugène BERLOT (father and son)

The fables and poems of Louis Berlot (born on 4 December 1823 in Vosnon, Aube) were well known during the 19th century. Alphonse de Lamartine wrote a preface to one of his collections of fables and proverbs in 1856. This collection included a poem entitled "La Villa de Blacé", which describes the poet's emotional attachment to his home and village. It is also said that the poet composed most of his works at Blacé.

His son, Eugène Berlot, (1856 - 1912), journalist, writer and local historian, was born in Blacé on 11 September 1856 and was better known under the name of Berlot-Francdouaire. Eugène left us with opera scores such as "Mam'zelle Sans Gêne", and novels such as "Les gueux de Lyon", not forgetting the "Guide du voyageur et du touriste en Beaujolais" from the "Monographies des villes et villages de France" collection. This work was published in 1904 and reprinted in 1993 and represented an early tourist guide. It describes the villages served by the "tacot", a recently constructed railway which winds its way through a circuit filled with patiently collected details and tit bits of information.

Adolphe VALETTE (1876 - 1942)

Adolphe Valette was born in Saint-Etienne (Loire) in 1876. He studied art in Saint-Etienne, Lyons and Bordeaux. In 1904, he left for England and in 1905/6, he became a lecturer at the Fine Arts' school in Manchester, where he remained until 1920. In 1928, he came to live in Blacé, where he painted many pictures showing Beaujolais landscapes and certain local figures. He exhibited his works in Saint-Etienne and Lyons and founded an arts' group in 1930. He died in 1942 and his tomb is located at the cemetery in Villefranche-sur-Saône.

His talent was particularly recognized in England, and more specifically in Manchester. He described the beauty of this town while magnifying the effects of urban pollution and industrialisation. When he left the town in 1928, the Manchester City Art Gallery bought nine of his pictures, which are currently exhibited in the museum, in a room dedicated to the artist and displaying 17 of his pictures. Some of his pictures can now be viewed on the web site: www.manchestergalleries.org. In addition, 123 copies of his works are included in the biography written by Cécilia Lyon and published in Great Britain.

Louis-Gaspard DUPASQUIER, architect from Lyon

Louis-Gas was born in Lyons in 1800 and studied architecture in the town. He was fascinated by Brou church in Ain and produced a monographic publication of this building, which subsequently made him famous. In 1829, he became an art teacher at the La Martinière school in Lyon. He restored many religious and civil monuments. The most famous of these include Autun cathedral in Saône-et-Loire, Brou church, and Montmelas castle in the Rhône region. He established the plans for the primary school in Blacé. The town of Lyons launched an architectural competition in view of a royal decree of 9 April 1823, ordering the construction of a slaughterhouse in Perrache. The entry of Louis-Gaspard Dupasquier and Vincent Farge was selected as the winning design.

This slaughterhouse was located on Quai Perrache and was directly operated by the town of Lyons until 1856, when it was transferred to the Compagnie des abattoirs et marchés aux bestiaux. Louis-Gaspard Dupasquier also constructed several churches, including the one in Blacé. He came to live in the village in a house owned by the family, later known as "le Clos des Orphelins" (Orphan's yard). He died in the village in October 1870 and was buried in the village cemetery.

Bibliography

• Louis et Eugène Berlot : Bulletin des sciences et arts du Beaujolais. 1903
  Journal de Villefranche : 1912
• Pravins castle: Bulletin de l’Académie de Villefranche n°18. Isabelle Brossard-Charretier
• Grammont priory: Bulletin de l’Académie de Villefranche. Louis Boniface
• Champrenard: Echos Beaujolais -1980
• Hestrange castle: documentation Metge-Toppin