In March 1209 (that’s right 1209) Count Alphonse II of Provence gave the little “perched village” of Biot to the rich and powerful Knights Templar and Biot has finally got around to celebrating the matter. On March 27, 28 and 29 the whole town will turn out to commemorate this event in an exciting program that includes, pageants, costumes, reenactments and probably a lot of really good food (I’m just guessing).

The legendary and mysterious Knights Templar amassed a stupendous fortune (kind of like AIG executives) that provoked such an outpouring of greed and envy that King Philippe confiscated their entire holdings in 1312. Many of the Knights were arrested, tortured and burned at the stake. That will probably not be reenacted later this month but it should be a good time anyway.

See the Biot municipal website to get programs. Find out more about Biot here.