2611 FRANCE (Occitania) - Lot Department

2611 Lot Department: Valentré Bridge;Saint-Cirq-Lapopie; Rocamadour.

Located in the southwest of France and named after the Lot River, Lot is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution in 1790. It was created from part of the province of Languedoc. In 1808 some of the original southeastern cantons were separated from it to form the department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It originally extended much farther to the south and included the city of Montauban. It is a land of beautiful landscapes of dramatic gorges, slow moving rivers, numerous beautiful villages, and vineyards.

Its capital is Cahors, best known as the centre of the famous AOC 'black' wine known since the Middle Ages and exported via Bordeaux, long before that region had developed its own viniculture industry. Its site is dramatic, being contained on three sides within a U-shaped bend in the River Lot known as the presqu'île ("peninsula"). The symbol of the town is Valentré Bridge, a 14th-century six-span fortified stone arch bridge crossing the Lot River.

At 30 km east of Cahors is Saint-Ciri-Lapopie. Its position, originally selected for defense, perched on a steep cliff 100 m above the river has helped make the town one of the most popular tourist destinations in the department, and the entire town is almost a museum. After it was "discovered" by the Post-Impressionist  Henri Martin, it became popular with other artists and the home of the writer André Breton. Below the fortress, the village of St Cirq, enclosed by fortified gates, includes many beautiful old houses whose facades of stone or wood were built between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries

At 36 km NNE of Cahors is Rocamadour, which attracted visitors for its setting in a gorge above a tributary of the River Dordogne, and especially for its historical monuments and its sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which for centuries has attracted pilgrims from many countries, among them kings, bishops, and nobles. Rocamadour is classed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as part of the St James' Way pilgrimage route.

About the stamp

The stamp, designed by Olivier-Laurent Girard, was issued on March 27, 1995 to mark the Anniversary of a centenary since the birth of Jean Giono (1895-1970), a French author who wrote works of fiction mostly set in the Provence region of France.

References
Lot (department) - Wikipedia

Sender: Jean-Yves Gerlat
Sent from Meylan (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes / France), on 26.04.2016