Pyrenees Guide

One can well understand that life has not always been easy in this part of the Fenouillèdes. The village is squashed on a spur of mountain peaks. All around, under the evergreen garrigue or scrubland, stones quickly come to the surface. If for an instant your attention falters, the dry stone terraces, patiently built on the side of the mountain, collapse invaded by scrub undergrowth. It needed centuries to build - one generation is enough to destroy it all. This agricultural asset which this terroir represented, has now become the picturesque landscape of our tourist outings, as if it was necessary to make a choice.

The Roman Aqueduct: This is more than 150 metres long and is both an aqueduct and a viaduct. This immense construction dates from the end of the Roman Empire. A coin from the 1st century A.D. was discovered nearby. A long multiplying line of Roman arcades and Moorish arches, it is built of cobblestones and bricks. In the hollow of its sides, it transforms into a humpbacked bridge. Above, it is an aqueduct where the water from a stream flows above the river. This enormous structure straddles the miserable stream of the Agly river at this point in its journey. It was reinforced during the Romanesque period.

Roman excessiveness and contemporary agriculture: The effort of building this ancient aqueduct seems out of proportion with the final result obtained: 150 metres of arcades and several kilometres of irrigation streams to water a few hectares of vegetables. The intake of water from the stream is far further up the river. At Ansignan, it irrigates the left bank of the Agly and has transformed it into small " horta ". As for the right bank it is irrigated by the water flowing through the aqueduct. The whole countryside is organized around a rational thought for agriculture.

Saint Nazaire: Like Saint Martin, Nazaire is the patron of difficult passages, whether they be mountain passes or river fords. A pre-Romanesque chapel nearby is proof of his worship. A little further on, the pillars of a medieval bridge straddle the Desig at its confluence with the Agly. The piers of a medieval bridge, destroyed in the floods of 1940 span the river. Up until a few years ago an old mill used the water from the aqueduct to turn its millstones. It is this whole valley that the aqueduct fertilized 2000 years ago.