historical region of SE France, on the Mediterranean
See Provence in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(prə-vänsˈ, prô-väɴsˈ)
A historical region and former province of southeast France bordering on the Mediterranean Sea. It was settled c. 600 B.C. by Greeks and later by Phoenician merchants and was colonized by Rome in the second century B.C. Provence became part of the kingdom of Arles in 933 A.D. and later passed to the Angevin dynasty (1246) and to France (1486).