Audio tour Visite libre de Villeneuve sur Lot offerte par le Gîte du Pennois***

Hello and welcome to Villeneuve sur Lot.

Today, Villeneuve-sur-Lot is an important and prosperous town of 24,000 inhabitants. Sub-prefecture of Lot-et-Garonne in NEW AQUITAINE, it has retained over the years all its originality and its rich architectural heritage.

 The history of Villeneuve goes back to that of Gaul. On the site of the current district of Eysses, a prosperous town arose in the 1st century AD: Excisum. Founded on the strategic crossroads of Roman roads, the sanctuary of Excisum is considered one of the largest sanctuaries in Roman Gaul.

The bastide town of Villeneuve-sur-Lot was founded by Count Alphonse de Poitiers, brother of Saint Louis, in the 13th century. Passing through Penne d'Agenais which was then the largest stronghold north of the county of Toulouse, he met the abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Eysses. Together, they agreed to create a new city which would stabilize and protect a population affected by the Albigensian crusade against the Cathars. The Abbey of Eysses thus gave the lands on the right bank of the Lot and the barons of Pujols ceded those on the left bank. The birth certificate of the new town was signed in 1264.

Its construction follows a well-defined plan adopted in most bastides in the South-West of France: an orthogonal plan organized around a central square. The originality of Villeneuve lies in its position astride the Lot. The bastide has stone and brick fortifications (built by the commune) with city gates (built by the king) and towers, after 1313. Thus was born Villeneuve d'Eysses in the Middle Ages, which became Villeneuve d' Agen in the 16th and 17th centuries and Villeneuve-sur-Lot in 1874.

Enjoy your visit..