Biot

Glass, Biot's signature

If Biot is world-famous today, it's thanks to glass. The glassmaking tradition, born in the middle of the XXᵉ century with the founding of the Verrerie de Biot, remains alive through numerous workshops and galleries. Visitors can watch glassblowers at work and discover unique pieces, perpetuating a specialty that has forged the village's identity.

A heritage linked to pottery

Long before glass, Biot was one of the most important pottery centers in the Mediterranean for four centuries. Re-populated in the 15th century by families from the Val d'Oneille in Italy, the village developed a veritable jar industry. These clay containers for oil, olives, grain or water were exported all over the world. In the XVIIIᵉ century, Biot still counted some forty workshops producing tens of thousands of jars every year.

Today, this past is still visible in the alleyways, on old facades where jar shards have been incorporated as building materials. Visit museum of biotois history and ceramics also retraces this memory, between know-how and local traditions.

A village steeped in history

A former Templar commandery that became a possession of the Knights of Malta, Biot retains a strong religious and historical imprint, perceptible even in its coat of arms marked with the Maltese cross. Visitors can admire the church of Sainte Marie-Madeleine, the chapel of Saint Julien, the ramparts and the Place des Arcades, the heart of village life.