sud de france, historical routes of languedoc-roussillon

Sud de France

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EDITO

Design and Production:Photo Credits: P. Palau, B. Liégeois, D. Faure, F. Laharrague, M. Monticelli, C. Bertrand.

VIA l a n g u e d o c - ro u s s i l lo n

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E x p e r i e n c e t h e P at h way s o f h i s t o ry

DOMITIA

In building the Via Domitia, the first Roman highway in Gaul, beginning in the year 121 B.C., the Romans followed in the footsteps of their Etruscan, Phoenician and Greek predecessors who had woven the first commercial links with the Oppida dwellers of Gaul, living in communities perched in the highlands. At that time, several urban cen-ters already existed in the region. Agde was founded by the Greeks in the 7th century. Ensérune and Abrussum were Oppida dwellings whose inhabitants gradually moved onto the plains. Nîmes was a fortified Gallic town and Béziers and Castelnau le Lez were two other Oppida communities.

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E x p e r i e n c e t h e P at h way s o f h i s t o ry

The

What a contrast these calm waters of the Midi Canal suggest compared to the years of gargantuan labour required to complete this project! As one glides down the “Royal Canal between two seas,” one can still imagine the sounds of shovels resonating along this worksite that required more than twenty years’ labour, from 1666 to 1680. More than 12,000 workers were mobilised to complete the canal under the direction of the ingenious Pierre-Paul Riquet. Nothing could stop Béziers’ native son, especially on his own lands in Fonsérannes, where a twenty-one metre drop required the construction of the spectacular stairway of “Nine Locks.”

Midi Canal

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E x p e r i e n c e t h e P at h way s o f h i s t o ry

SanTIaGO de ComposTela

The routes and trails follow a serpentine path across hills blanketed in scrub, vineyards and orchards. Landscaped by inhabitants over the course of centuries, these pathways make their way through solid rock, wrapping around cliffs, and then descend into more gentle lands to proceed through sweet valleys. Pilgrims left traces of their passage, delighting today’s visitors with the construction of river crossings, bridges, church towers, monasteries, crosses, chapels, oratories, abbey churches, basilicas, and other works built to honour the relics of St. James in Spain, the ultimate aim of the journey. All through the Middle Ages, Santiago-de-Compostela was the most important of all the destinations for pilgrims coming from all over Europe. Therefore, given the power and beauty that still emanate from these paths, UNESCO did not hesitate to register them on the list of mankind’s World Heritage sites.

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E x p e r i e n c e t h e P at h way s o f h i s t o ry

AT The cRoss

Roads of HIsToRY

E x p e r i e n c e t h e P at h way s o f h i s t o ry

AT The cRoss

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Roads of HIsToRY

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E x p e r i e n c e t h e P at h way s o f h i s t o ry

Roads of cha

Rm and WondeR

E x p e r i e n c e t h e P at h way s o f h i s t o ry

Roads of cha

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Rm and WondeR

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E x p e r i e n c e t h e P at h way s o f h i s t o ry

HInTs of

The ETeRnal

E x p e r i e n c e t h e P at h way s o f h i s t o ry

HInTs of

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The ETeRnal

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E x p e r i e n c e t h e P at h way s o f h i s t o ry

In The HeaRT of LauRa

GaIs and MIneRVoIs

E x p e r i e n c e t h e P at h way s o f h i s t o ry

In The HeaRT of LauRa

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GaIs and MIneRVoIs

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E x p e r i e n c e t h e P at h way s o f h i s t o ry

fRom The Sea

To The MounTaIns

E x p e r i e n c e t h e P at h way s o f h i s t o ry

fRom The Sea

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To The MounTaIns

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E x p e r i e n c e t h e P at h way s o f h i s t o ry

PaThs of HI

sToIRY in LOzeRE

E x p e r i e n c e t h e P at h way s o f h i s t o ry

PaThs of HI

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sToIRY in LOzeRE

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