City of Pézenas

Pézenas is a city steeped in history as evidenced by its historic center, a setting of late Middle Ages residences and many mansions from the 17th and 18th centuries. But the history of the city is much older since the origin of the name Pézenas goes back to the Roman occupation; Pliny the Elder already praised the merits of "Piscenae" for the quality of the waters of its river, the Peyne. From 1262, Pézenas asserted itself when it entered the royal domain, the day after the crusade against the Albigensians, as a place of fairs until the middle of the 19th century.

 The Montmorençys, Governors of the province of Languedoc, made Pézenas their capital. The Estates General - itinerant assembly which votes the king's tax and supervises the administration of the dioceses - frequently sit in Pézenas and attract a company that builds beautiful private mansions and houses in the fields, veritable little castles. Under the protection of the Prince of Conti, Jean Baptiste Poquelin dit Molière, and his companions from the Illustre Théâtre, tied with glory. From 1653 to 1657, Molière and his friends entertained the Prince and his friends with jokes.

Molière would have found the inspiration for some of them, sitting in the armchair of his friend, the barber Gély, market square in Bled. From the frequent stays of Molière in Pézenas was born the Molierist movement of the 19th century. Which will make Marcel Pagnol say later that “if Jean Baptiste Poquelin was born in Paris, Molière was born in Pézenas. » Pézenas has known how to evolve, develop its tourist attractions, while preserving its authenticity.

In the middle of the 19th century, when Pézenas was at its height, its distance from the railway line linking Montpellier to Bordeaux marked the beginning of its decline. It was a blessing in disguise, since this remoteness has allowed the city to preserve an exceptional historical and architectural heritage. Its historic center, and in particular its first enclosure, was one of the first sectors safeguarded by the Malraux law in 1965. This allowed a qualitative restoration of many private mansions.