Uzès

Uz?s is a picturesque town and commune in the Gard d?partement, Languedoc, France, located about 15 miles north-northeast of N?mes. Population: 8,007.

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Here, at the source of the Eure began the 1st century CE Roman aqueduct that brought water 50 km to Nimes, of which the famous stretch is the Pont du Gard, which carries the aqueduct on splendid arches across the river Gardon. Uz?s, as Ucetia was a small Gallo-Roman oppidum.

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With the arrival of official Christianity in the 5th century, and until the Revolution, the city was the seat of a bishop, a competitor to the local lords. The fourth bishop is locally venerated as Saint Firmin, a sure protection against plague; his relics remain in the Cathedral of Saint Th?odorit. As the power of territorial magnates dispersed, the bishops obtained the right to strike coinage, a sure sign of their secular power, and the seigneurial right to dispense justice. In the 13th century, at the height of their power, the bishop was able to purchase a part of the signory of Uz?s. Guillaume de Grimoard du Roure, officiated as bishop of Uz?s before becoming Pope Urban V. There are handsome monuments of the prestige of this bishopric, once one of the most extensive of Languedoc, but extinguished at the Revolution, and private houses that witness the wealth that the textile trade brought in the 16th century. The 11th century Romanesque Tour Fenestrelle ("Window Tower"), with its paired windows, is probably the most famous icon of the city.

Commune: A commune or comune is a system of social and economic organization which involves the common ownership of resources and/or shared obligations. Within that framework, the word can have various meanings:...

Languedoc: Languedoc (Lengad?c in Occitan) is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day r?gions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyr?n?es in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyr?n?es. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² (16,490 sq. miles)....

France: The French Republic or France (: R?publique fran?aise or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents....