Of Carcassonne, the most celebrated monument between Monte Carlo and Bordeaux, a modest beginning for a mini project…
I also have more to do to the Picturesque Bordeaux Wine Villages project and some work around Gaillac to prepare; and of course ther is the excitement of the new commission, “B I Sunday” to distract me…
I have been trying to get to grips with the next group of paintings for about 6 weeks.
Frustration…, so many ambushes, so much displacement activity…
I hope to evade the dozens of other tasks demanding my attention including house work, ironing cloths, cooking and accounts, to keep the momentum going tomorrow.
Now watch as my good intentions get ambushed!
A future project ?
For the moment this represents a modest beginning for a mini project around and in the
I also have more to do to the Picturesque Bordeaux Wine Villages project and some work around Gaillac to prepare; and of course there is the excitement of the new commission, “B I Sunday” to distract me…
The historic site of Carcassonne, now a famous monument set in a rural landscape of vines and other produce typical of the south west of France has played a decisive role in the regional history of Languedoc.
The Iron Age Oppidum was later transformed into a Roman town withing the huge province of Narbonne, a province that stretched from the Alps to Barcelona with in this region, its northern frintier with Gaul set along the river Tarn.
During the Ist Century BC, the city-state became the possession of the powerful Viscount Trencavel.
He ruled over Bas-Languedoc.
At the end of the crusade against the Albigensians which saw the extermination of the Cathars the city, Carcassonne with its improved fortifications, became one of the strongholds symbolising Royal Catholic power on the frontier between the young, growing France and Aragon.
Following the Treaty of the Pyrenees which made the Roussillon a French possession, the city lost its strategic role and its defense works were neglected.
In the 19 th Century, the residents of Carcassonne and the Historic Monuments Department (Service des Monuments historiques), far sighted for their times, commissioned Eugène Viollet-le-Duc to restore the ancient fortress to its original magnificent appearance.
Theirs was a fine investment for us all, Carcassonne remains to this day well worth a visit, fine restaurants await you in the city center, reasonable prices and a memorable ambiance.
