Sara and Robyn say “Bonjour”

June 23: Pennatier

Before venturing out of Aragon, we explored the town (this didn’t take long)…hoping we could see inside the little church. But it only opens for marriages, every so often. So here’s the best picture we could take!

 Then off to the little village of Pennatier. Pennautier is a rural commune with a population of 2,714 in 2020, having experienced a sharp rise in population since 1975. It is part of the  Carcassone attraction area.

The architectural heritage of the town includes a building protected as an historical monument: the Castle, called the Chateau de Pennatier, listed in 1989.

The Château de Pennautier which has been nicknamed the Versailles of Languedoc was built in 1620. You can see why it gets its nickname.

We had a lovely lunch at a winery with a long history in the area – the Lorgeril vineyard – dating back to 1620. Grilled fish with mashed beans, and melon minestrone for dessert!

In the castle’s chapel, there is a memorial to Comte de Lorgeril. The Count of Lorgeril was the very symbol of the elite Frenchman, what today would be called a “Tradilandais”: father of five children, knight of the Legion of Honor, decorated during the First World War with the Croix de Guerre French and Italian. As far as politics was concerned, he was a practicing Catholic and a monarchist.

He met a gruelling death from the communists …He was arrested on August 22, 1944: “Completely naked, the unfortunate man had to sit on a bayonet. Then he had his metacarpal spaces severed, his feet and hands crushed. The executioners pierced his chest and back with a red-hot bayonet. The martyr was then plunged into a bathtub full of gasoline to which the sadists set fire. Their victim having fainted, they revived him to then spread flaming petrol on his wounds. The unfortunate man was still alive. He was to die, 55 days later, in the sufferings of a damned man…”.

Sorry…didn’t mean to spoil your dinner!

Saying “au revoir” to Aragon. See you in Antibes!