In the autumn of 2012 a French construction company plans to install an 18metre high television antenna on the top of the hill of l'Hermitage. The hillside whose escarpment dominates the Rhone Valley, is home to some of the greatest vineyards in the world which produce wines based on the Syrah grape. The purpose of the 'Hermitage antenna' is to provide coverage for the transition of tv channels in France to digital. Needless to say locals and wine-lovers around the world are united in their condemnation of such a defacement of this beautiful landscape. The new pylon is to be located at the very heart of La Chapelle vineyard – only 50-meters away from Hermitage Hill’s famed Chapel of St. Christophe ('La Chapelle'), which has been owned by Domaines Paul Jaboulet Aîné for almost 100 years.
The definition of a 'landmark' is appropriately ambiguous. On the one hand it can mean a building of cultural or historical significance and on the other a conspicuous object in a landscape. The two are rather at opposite ends of the spectrum. Unfortunately, it is inconceivable that a television aerial which rises 18 metres above the ground on top of the hill could be disguised as anything other than it represents. Hilltops having certain exceptional characteristics are always going to be targets for radio broadcasting of one form or another - these might be mobile telephones, radio, and television. It's also quite possible that once an antenna has been sited its usefulness will be attractive to other companies and before long the whole thing will look like a Christmas tree burgeoned with wonderful toys. A TV antenna tower, whether bracketed or self-supporting, is made largely of metal. At a height of 18m above ground it is already visible almost 10 miles away. Perched on the top of a hill with an elevation of 300m it will be visible by anyone in line of sight from almost 40 miles away. All boats passing the along the Rhone, which in 2010 saw a significant increase in traffic equivalent to the levels of the 1980s, would see the mast from miles away - it is hardly the site for a lighthouse.
Objects and buildings are constructed to link the imagination of the viewer to the theme of their appearance as in churches, museums, skyscrapers, statues, advertising hoardings etc. This can even extend to a figure of speech - metonymy - where, for example, 'Hollywood' comes to represent US cinema. A TV antenna oddly has none of these associations - it is simply an eyesore. Strange that something which is a conveyance of something so hugely popular has never established itself in peoples' consciousness as anything other than an object of distaste. The siting of a pylon on the colline de l'Hermitage is a desecration as potent as if it were installed on a Pyramid.
Legend has it that the knight Gaspard de Stérimberg returning home from the Albigensian Crusade was given permission to build a refuge on top of the hill to recover from his ordeals. He lived there as a hermit for his remaining days (hence the name of Hermitage). A chapel was subsequently built in honor of Saint Christopher and is today owned by the negociant Paul Jaboulet Âiné. Saint Christopher is an important saint (although now dropped from the Catholic universal Calendar) and is the patron saint of travellers, ferrymen, mariners, boatmen, sailors and perhaps significantly for Hermitage, fruit dealers and for people who lift and carry (as one might in a harvest). He also works against lightening and hailstorms. Ironically, Christopher could not accept becoming a hermit, and instead he asked if he could help people crossing a dangerous river. He reputedly carried Christ himself.
Wine made on the hillside of Hermitage - an Appellation in its own right since 1937 - is largely made from the Syrah grape but some white wines are produced from Roussane and Marsanne. Louis XIII designated wine from this hill as a 'wine of the court' after being offered a glass during a visit to the area in 1642. The vines grow on the south western slopes of the hillside and are divided into a number of vineyards - Les Bessards, L'Hermite, and La Chapelle on the top of the hill with Le Méal, Les Gréffeiux, Bessards, and Murets to the east. The whole Appellation is 345 acres and produces just under 750,000 bottles each year.
Health risks associated with TV antennas have been studied. According to one such report "The communications industry often denies that there could be a problem from radio and TV transmitters, saying that we have had these forms of broadcasting for a long time, without reported health problems. This is not strictly true as can be seen from the results of several studies. In 2002 the Human Sciences Department of Lincoln University, New Zealand published the report Health Effects in the vicinity of Radio/TV towers and mobile phone base stations by Dr Neil Cherry O.N.Z.M. It found the following:
that TV towers (amongst other EMR) are risk factors for:
• Cancer across all body organs, especially brain tumour, breast cancer and leukaemia,
• Cardiac arrhythmia, heart attack and heart disease,
• Neurological effects, including sleep disturbance, learning difficulties, senility, depression and suicide.
• Miscarriage, congenital malformation, Sudden Infant Death syndrome, early childhood cancer, especially Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL).
The UNESCO World Heritage Site convention, for which l'Hermitage is a candidate, starts in its policy document by citing the following: "Noting that the cultural heritage and the natural heritage are increasingly threatened with destruction not only by the traditional causes of decay, but also by changing social and economic conditions which aggravate the situation with even more formidable phenomena of damage or destruction..." It is odd to contemplate that all of this may take place in a country which may not only recognise the need to preserve its patrimony but significantly the users of the new TV antenna - the media companies within France - are all owned and run by, if not merely wine enthusiasts, nonetheless owners of some of France's greatest estates. For example: TF1 a major French television channel is owned by Martin Bouygues (who with his brother own Château Montrose in Bordeaux). Bernard Arnault (France's richest man ) is an investor in Bouygues Construction, he is also the owner with Albert Frère of two of France's greatest wine estates - Château Cheval Blanc and Château d'Yquem. France Télévisions (who claim that 4 out of 10 who watch television watch their channels) is managed by Emmanuelle Guilbart (head of programming): her grand-father was a viticulturist (Chinon). "My colleagues and friends must all consume at least 100 bottles of Chinon each year!". M6's Métropole Télévision with a 13.6% nationwide broadcasts such TV gems as Desperate Housewives, Friends and Sex and the City not to mention the x-Factor and Wife Swap is co-owner of the Girondins soccer club of Bordeaux whose President is Jean-Louis Triaud owner of Chateaux Gloria and Saint-Pierre. Le Groupe Figaro, presided over by Serge Dassualt are owners of Château Dassault, St Emilion, France. Vincent Bolloré are owners of Domaine de La Croix in the South of France but in his day job he is head of Direct 8 which claims an audience of 2.3% of French TV audiences. They are partners with Le Monde and Le Figaro. According to their website Bolloré Média they had "reinforced their position in 2010 by acquiring a second chain", Direct Star, a musical channel in the new TNT (Télévision Numérique Terrestre) firmament, which is what this is all about. Albert Frère independent Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Metropole Television SA is also a shareholder in Château Cheval Blanc and Château d'Yquem.
The irony of any antenna construction in this area is that it is not required. If one visits a website to determine digital coverage in the region and keys in the zip-code for La Maison Jaboulet - 26600 - this confirmation follows: " Zone de réception : Rhône-Alpes La région Rhône-Alpes est passée à la télé numérique le 15 juin 2011. Depuis le 15 juin 2011, vous devriez recevoir les chaînes TNT. Vous pouvez recevoir la télévision numérique depuis les émetteurs suivants : L'émetteur de Avignon Mont Ventoux - Mont Ventoux." In other words the area already has TNT reception.
Returning to the UNESCO declaration about heritage sites:
" Considering that, in view of the magnitude and gravity of the new dangers threatening them, it is incumbent on the international community as a whole to participate in the protection of the cultural and natural heritage of outstanding universal value, by the granting of collective assistance which, although not taking the place of action by the State concerned, will serve as an efficient complement thereto" - so, with or without an official declaration this is a call to arms.
Please link to this article and raise your voice against the 'Hermitage Antenna'.
Footnotes only available on the website.
