Gentilly, Val-de-Marne

For other places with the same name, see Gentilly (disambiguation).

Gentilly
Paris and inner ring departments
Location within Île-de-France region  Gentilly
Administration
Country	France
Region	Île-de-France
Department	Val-de-Marne
Arrondissement	L'Haÿ-les-Roses
Intercommunality	Val de Bièvre
Statistics
Land area1	1.18 km2 (0.46 sq mi)
Population2	17,230  (2006)
- Density	14,602 /km2 (37,820 /sq mi)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Gentilly is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 4.1 km (2.5 mi) from the center of Paris.

Name

The name Gentilly was recorded for the first time in the 6th century as Gentiliacum, a royal estate of some importance where coinage was minted. The etymology of the name seems to be "estate of Gentilius", a Gallo-Roman landowner. However, some other researchers think that the name is connected with Latin gentilis (meaning "gentile", "pagan", "foreigner") in reference to foreign goldsmiths who may have settled in Gentilly in the Early Middle Ages.

History

On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighboring communes. On that occasion, about half of the commune of Gentilly was annexed to Paris, and forms now the neighborhoods of Maison-Blanche and Glacière, in the 13th arrondissement of Paris.

On 13 December 1896, about half of the territory of Gentilly was detached and became the commune of Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, leaving Gentilly as a rump commune after the 1860 and 1896 losses of territory.

Culture

The famous photographer Robert Doisneau was born in Gentilly (April 14, 1912). There is a Maison de la photographie Robert Doisneau [1][2] an international cultural center for humanist photography.

Transport

Gentilly is served by Gentilly station on Paris RER line .

Notable residents

• St. Eligius, also known as Éloi de Noyon or Saint Éloi (c. 588 - December 1, 660) is the patron saint of goldsmiths, metalworkers, coin collectors, horses, and those who work with them.
• Saint Martial, third-century monk and first bishop of Limoges.
• Pepin the Short (Pépin le Bref), eighth-century king of the Franks, son of Charles Martel, and father of Charlemagne.
• Blanche of Castile (1188–1252) is said to have owned a castle in Gentilly, the remains of which, chiefly underground vaults, still exist.
• Isaac de Benserade, author and playwright of the seventeenth century, lived in Gentilly and died there in 1691.
• Jacques Chapelle chemist and potter, director of the pottery works at Sceaux from 1748 to 1763, was born at Gentilly in 1721.
• Robert Doisneau, the photographer, was born at Gentilly in 1912.
• Sophie Marceau, the movie actress, born in 1966, lived in Gentilly.
• Raymond Souplex is buried at Gentilly.

See also

• Communes of the Val-de-Marne department

References

• INSEE
• Mayors of Essonne Association (French)

External links

• Official website (French)