Situated on the Central Plateau, at an altitude of 549 metres above sea level, Curepipe has a pleasant temperature but a rainy climate. It partly owes its extensive facilities and large residential areas to the malaria epidemics of the 1860s, which caused many well-to-do families to leave Port-Louis for the cooler and healthier high plateau.
Curepipe gradually became famous for its elegant dwellings, with typical colonial French architecture.
📜 History
🏛 A Few Landmarks of Curepipe
🛡 Motto and Coat of Arms
Coat of Arms
The shield of the Arms of Curepipe is divided horizontally into two parts, the upper part being about one third and the lower part two thirds of the area of the shield. The field or background of the latter is divided into six wavy divisions flowing horizontally across the shield and coloured alternatively white and blue which is intended to represent the marshy site on which the town was built and placed thereon is a spring of azalea leaves and flowers all gold recalling that the site of the town was once a field of azaleas.
In the upper part of the shield termed in heraldry 'a chief' is depicted a green mount or hill in allusion to the well-known Trou-aux-Cerfs crater, and this is ensigned of a blue eradicated mullet or star introduced not only for geographical significance but also to provide a sense of elevation as conveyed by the motto.
"Excelsus Splendeo"
Exalted I Shine — displayed in traditional fashion upon a scroll placed below the shield itself.
Sur Les Hauteurs, Je Brille