Montréal-du-Gers
The Vía Podiensis
Montreal-du-Gers holds the distinction of being the first Gascon bastide, founded on March 30, 1255, by Alphonse de Poitiers, brother of King Louis IX. The name means "royal mount," and the bastide sits on a rocky outcrop with commanding views in all directions. The classic bastide layout is intact: a central arcaded square surrounded by stone galleries, an ogival city gate, half-timbered houses, and narrow medieval passages.
The bigger draw lies just outside town. The Villa Gallo-Romaine de Seviac is part of the ELUSA Capitale Antique archaeological complex and contains 625 square meters of mosaics preserved in situ -- the largest ensemble in France. The estate was occupied for nearly a millennium, with the villa restructured in the 4th century to include 500 square meters of private thermal baths with underfloor heating. The mosaics, designated as the "School of Aquitaine" tradition, are protected under a modern shelter. First excavated in 1868, the site underwent systematic summer digs from 1967 to 1997.
Basic services in town: small shops, restaurants, gites. The tourist office can arrange visits to Seviac.
Alphonse de Poitiers founded the bastide in 1255 on a strategic elevated site between Auch and Agen. The bastide system was a deliberate colonization strategy -- new planned towns offering freedoms and market rights to attract settlers to disputed territories. Montreal was the prototype in Gascony.
The Seviac villa tells a longer story. First built in the mid-1st century, it was dramatically expanded in the late 4th century into a vast luxury estate that may have covered 300 hectares of farmland and vineyards. Abbe Monnier first excavated it in 1868, finding mosaics and writing to Napoleon III's minister for funding. Paulette Aragon-Launet reactivated the work in 1959, and the site has been a classified Historic Monument since 1978.
Accommodation in Montréal-du-Gers.
| Gîte d´étape Compostela 16€ 13 |
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| Gîte d´étape Napoléon 16€ 12 |
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| Gîte d´étape La Halte du Rempart 18*€ 10 |
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