Sammalo |
Saint-Malo, on the Brittany coast, is the port from which Verrazano sailed for the Carolinas and Newfoundland in 1524, and from which the man from Saint-Malo himself, Jacques Cartier, sailed for the St. Lawrence in 1534 and 1535. The seaport, in the Ille-et-Vilaine département, Britanny région, northwestern France, is situated on the English Channel, on the right bank of the estuary of the Rance River. The old walled city stands on a granite islet that is joined to the mainland by an ancient causeway and by an avenue bridging the inner harbour. Saint-Malo was named after Maclou, or Malo, a Welsh monk who fled to Brittany, making his headquarters on the island, in the 6th century and probably became the first bishop of Aleth (Saint-Servan). The island was not substantially inhabited until the 8th century, when the population of the surrounding district sought refuge there from the Normans. The bishopric was transferred to the island in 1144 and was abolished in 1790. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Saint-Malo derived prosperity from its navigators, traders, and privateers. « PANTAGRUELION » |