Did you know ? This is why we call Toulouse “the pink city”
This is a question that runs through the minds of many Toulouse residents. Why is Toulouse nicknamed “the pink city”? If many think that the origin of this expression comes from the color of its Roman brick buildings and its tiled roofs, all is an illusion.
>> The Independent Opinion, based on the story of the Town Hall of Toulouse, sheds light on your lantern.
The city has not always been rosy
Toulouse’s architecture has not always been made of exposed bricks, as we see them today. In the 18th century, there was even a capitular decree obliging the people of Toulouse to whiten their facade. And this, for reasons of public safety. It was only after the Second World War, under the will of successive municipalities, that white would gradually disappear from facades, abandoned to spring up the brilliance of Toulouse bricks. The traces of white paint are still visible in the rue des Marchands, near the place de la Trinité. But when did the expression “pink city” appear?
This famous guide makes particular reference to the light that is reflected on the bricks. A projection that immerses the city in a special atmosphere, especially at dusk. Nevertheless, this expression would not draw its origins from the brick.
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A poetic expression
To explain the history of this illustrious nickname, the city refers to the work of historian Luce Barlangue “Toulouse, a southern metropolis: twenty centuries of urban life”.
In her book, the Toulouse woman attributes a completely different reason to this expression. According to her, this nickname would be an invention of a group of poets from the Academy of Floral Games. She writes: “among Toulouse poets, a poetic air of time linked pink with the idea of seduction, youth, sensuality, fragility, the easy Tolose/rose rhyme probably did the rest”. These versifiers thus considered Toulouse as a carnal woman, evoking femininity, seduction, sensuality, youth, fragility, characteristics relating to the rose. This poetic expression would have caused such a craze that tourism professionals would have seized it.
As you will have understood, the pink city would surely not be the pink city without the inspiration of the poets of the time.
“The pink city is therefore not necessarily linked to its brick facades or its sunsets on the banks of the Garonne, but a distinctive sign given at a time when the Palladian City (another nickname) was the city of arts and Letters”, ended the town hall of Toulouse. Mystery solved!
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