Every design for Draguignan

In the shelter of the Malmont, the hill that keeps the mistral off the town, Draguignan fills a broad valley running from north-west to south-east, with the Nartuby, a trout river, flowing through it. The sea is not far, Saint-Tropez is within reach, and to the north the land climbs towards the Verdon.

The town's story begins with a dragon. According to legend, a bishop named Saint Hermentaire killed one here and saved the people, and Draguignan has carried the creature in its name ever since, along with the Latin motto Alios nutrio, meos devoro, I nourish others, I devour my own. For a long time it was the prefecture of the Var; today it is the centre of a community of towns between the Riviera and the Verdon Regional Natural Park, and home to two military schools, the Infantry School and the Artillery School. Summers are hot and dry, winters mild, and frost is rare.

Growing up here means knowing the shape of the Malmont against the sky, and the Nartuby running dry below Rebouillon in summer. The map holds both.