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The Region
A very ancient civilisation…
The Pheniciens and the Greeks preceded the Romans.The groups followed on
from each other, and sometimes their meetings were violent. Hannibal and
then the Arabs and the French knights as well. Simon de Montfort hunted
the Cathars…
Today, the Languedoc Roussillon, that certain would prefer to call Septimania,
is a very active French region, a crossroads between the north/south routes,
from the North of Europe towards Catalonia, and the West/East routes, from
the Atlantic ocean towards Italy.
The marks of History are everywhere, all along the Domitian Way, the Oppidum
d'Enserune, Narbonne and Beziers, Agde and Carcassonne, Maguelonne and Aigues-Mortes,
Arles and Beaucaire…
Through the centuries, the countryside has been shaped by man. Villages and crops are the reflection of a certain art de vivre.
The Canal du Midi, of course, is the work of art that gives the region its
structure.
It is one of the first canals in the world, the second in France. It is
the work of Pierre Riquet. After about 15 years of labour,it was inaugurated
in 1681 and was the realisation of a very old dream, that of connecting
« the two seas », the Atlantic and the Mediterranean,
at a time when the roads were very bad, and when the railway was still to
be invented.
Today it has been officially recognised by Unesco as part
of World heritage.
The bridges, the locks, and the works of art date, for the most part, from
the 17th century and bear the stamp.