Vif, Isère
Vif is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France.
The town hosts the Champollion Museum, located in the former residence of the Champollion family. Closed for renovations, it reopened in June 2021.
Geography
Vif is situated in the Valley of Gresse, in the south of Grenoble, upon the north-east foothills of the Vercors. The town is crossed by the Gresse river. Vif lies 16 km south of Grenoble, 65 km north-west of Gap and 65 km north-east of Valence.Sights
- Vif is the home of the Champollion Museum, settled in the former family house of Jacques-Joseph Champollion-Figeac and his wife Zoé Berriat.
- The city is the cradle of the French company Vicat, founded by Joseph Vicat. The first cement works was built in Genevrey-de-Vif in 1857.
- The town has two churches: Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Vif and Saint-Marie du Genevrey, which is one of the oldest medieval churches in Grenoble métropole.
- The actual town hall was an ancient monastery until 1792, then a silk mill managed by the Berriat family.
The "Line of Alps", a railway connecting Grenoble to Gap via the Alps, crosses the town territory on a 19th-century railway viaduct, the viaduct of Crozet.
Notable people
- Charles Le Goux de La Berchère, bishop
- Jacques-Joseph Champollion-Figeac, archaeologist, brother of Jean-François
- Jean-François Champollion, philologist and orientalist, decipherer of Egyptian hieroglpyhsFrenchy, first settler of today's Oliver Lee Memorial State Park
- Yves de La Brière, French Jesuit born in Vif.
Twin towns – sister cities
Vif is twinned with:- Rivalta di Torino, Italy, since 1985