Les Toits De Saint-Aignan

Rooftops. St.-Aignan's topography allows us to get up above the center and gaze down on the town's rooftops. This is best done up at the château, naturally built on the highest point above the river.

Mostly slate rooftops in this view.

The roofing materials are a pretty even mix between ardoise (slate) and tuiles (terra cotta tiles). Many roofs in the north of France (especially in the cities) are made of slate. If you've been to Paris, or Bretagne, you will have noticed that most of the roofs are dark and shiny; they're made with slate.

More terra cotta roof tiles in this view.

In the south of France, more of the roofs are made from terra cotta tiles in one shape or another. They're mostly red-orange in color, but can vary from dark to light, and with age can attain a certain patina, especially in damper climates like ours.

View of the rooftops seen from the château's courtyard.

Here, in St.-Aignan and throughout the central region, we're in the place where these different roof styles mix pretty evenly. The northern slate begins to give way to the southern tile, and both styles are on view in the towns around here. Our house has a tile roof, but it's flat tile, not the undulating kind more commonly found in the south.