I am not, repeat not, repeating myself

Actually, I am. I wrote about the rooftops in Saint-Aignan back in the summer of 2009. I talked about slate roofs and tile roofs and how we see a pretty even blend of the two materials on our local buildings. Slate roofs are more common the farther north you go, and tile roofs become the standard as you move south toward the Mediterranean regions.

These are mostly slate rooftops.

There are variations, of course. Some roofs, especially in the south, are made with stones. Others in mountainous regions use schist/shale tiles called lauze that's like slate, but much thicker. Metal roofs are not uncommon, but I've seen them mostly on utility buildings like barns and garages. Our house's roof is made with concrete tiles called tuiles mécaniques; they interlock with a channel that's designed to shed water.

Here's a good mix of tiles and slate.

There's a spot on the terrace of Saint-Aignan's château where you can look out over the roofs of the main part of town. You can see examples of different roof treatments if you look closely. Mostly you will see dark slate and brown terracotta tiles. There are undoubtedly some tuiles mécaniques in the mix and I think I can spot a metal roof or two.

The view hasn't changed much over the years, but the camera and the blog format have.