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Villages / Geneva / Cara

Cara

Canton of Geneva · No published figure for the locality; the municipality of Presinge has 731 inhabitants (31.12.2025)
Part of the municipality of Presinge
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Cara

The origin of the name Cara has not yet been explained.

Founding of Cara

Cara, a hamlet of the municipality of Presinge, lay at a crossroads of Celtic and then Roman roads. The hamlet reportedly existed long before Presinge and formed a promontory on the road from Annemasse to Thonon, though this is uncertain. Around the year 100 a Roman villa rustica was built near an imperial road. Its remains, with fragments of painted walls and a mosaic, were uncovered from 1963 onwards, 55 m from the French-Swiss border.[1][2][3][4]

History of Cara

Celtic period. Cara lies at a crossroads of Celtic, then Roman roads. The hamlet reportedly already exists, long before Presinge.[1][4]

Around 100. Construction of a Roman villa rustica near an imperial road. Its painted walls and mosaic date from the late 1st or early 2nd century.[1][2]

1963. Discovery of the mosaic on the Petit-Cara estate. The excavations that follow uncover three rectangular rooms, only a small part of the villa.[2]

1965. Ch. Dunant and M.-R. Sauter publish the results of the excavations in the journal Genava.[2]

1966. On 16 September the Council of State places the mosaic under protection.[2]

Historic sites in Cara

Grand-Cara and Petit-Cara. Parts of the hamlet recorded by swisstopo. The mosaic was discovered on the Petit-Cara estate, route des Eaux-Belles 36.[2]

Remains in Cara

Petit-Cara mosaic. Geometric floor of black and white limestone triangles around a central motif, about 1.63 m by 1.64 m, perhaps part of a larger ensemble. Together with the one found under Genève Cathedral, it is the best-preserved mosaic in the canton. It is displayed under the south-east gallery of the estate house.[2][3]

Decoration of the villa. The main room was decorated with relief stucco and wall paintings, fragments of which were found.[1][2][3]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Presinge » (Fabia Christen)
  2. Office du patrimoine et des sites (Genève), recensement, « Mosaïque à Petit-Cara », route des Eaux-Belles 36, Presinge
  3. Ostia-antica.org, « Presinge, Cara » (Suisse, canton de Genève)
  4. Commune de Presinge, « Présinge découverte »
  5. Office cantonal de la statistique (OCSTAT), Mémento statistique du canton de Genève 2026, tableau Population résidante par commune, en 2025
  6. geo.admin.ch, service de recherche de swisstopo (Cara, Presinge, coordonnées)

Other villages near Cara

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