Saint-Paul-de-Vence
commune in Alpes-Maritimes, France

Saint-Paul-de-Vence (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ pɔl də vɑ̃s], literally Saint-Paul of Vence; Occitan: Sant Pau de Vença; Italian: San Paolo di Venza) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. One of the oldest medieval towns on the French Riviera, Saint-Paul-de-Vence is well known for its modern and contemporary art museums and galleries such as the Fondation Maeght, and for the 17th-century Saint Charles-Saint Claude chapel, which in 2012–2013 was decorated with murals by French artist Paul Conte.
Until 2011, the commune was officially called Saint-Paul.
Population
Notable people
Saint-Paul-de-Vence has long been a haven of the famous, mostly due to the La Colombe d'Or hotel, whose former guests include Jean-Paul Sartre and Pablo Picasso. During the 1960s, the village was frequented by French actors Yves Montand, Simone Signoret and Lino Ventura, and poet Jacques Prévert.
Saint-Paul is also well known for the artists who have lived there, such as Jacques Raverat, Gwen Raverat and Marc Chagall and more recently the couple Bernard-Henri Lévy and Arielle Dombasle. Former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman has a home there. American writer James Baldwin lived in Saint-Paul-de-Vence for 17 years until his death in 1987. British actor Donald Pleasence lived there until his death in 1995.
Former football player Vincenzo Rennella was born in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Saint-Paul-de-Vence” as commune in Alpes-Maritimes, France. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as commune in Alpes-Maritimes, France. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q208260. VIAF identifies the subject as 138386603. The Library of Congress control number is n81100665. Authority coordinates are 43.696, 7.122. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 3 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2012, 2013, 2011 and 1987.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Saint-Paul-de-Vence”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Saint-Paul-de-Vence primary sources, Saint-Paul-de-Vence archive and Saint-Paul-de-Vence research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Saint-Paul-de-Vence”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Saint-Paul-de-Vence” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.