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 All towns and many villages had to be walled for safety in the Middle Ages
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Vianne’s Solid walls to keep out the sun … and invaders ( :J.M.-CDT47) |
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The larger towns have long lost their walls, though their line is still obvious in their present plans. Within the bounds of the old walls is a maze of narrow streets.
The more prosperous the town was, the tighter the central knot, for houses were built higher and the street-space was encroached upon to allow more people to live in the city. When the walls were destroyed, they offered a chance which was nearly always seized, to make 'boulevards', the wide, pleasant avenues where the cafés gather the townspeople at the hours dedicated to conversation.
They also share the shopping-quarters with the market-place, for it is on the boulevards that the best dress-shops, book-shops and other general goods will be found. But while a ring of boulevards is usual, the market-place is invariable, except in the tiniest hamlets. The church and the market are still, as they have always been, the heart of town life. There may also be a castle; there will always be a school.
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