We set off on Saturday morning for two vide greniers, with the first in Eauze, considered the Capitol of Armagnac- the heart of its production. Eauze was already a city when the Romans came and made it their capitol of the region until the 8th century, when the Romans were defeated by the Vikings. Eauze has a large bull fighting arena. It’s cathedral - Cathedral Saint-Luperc, is built on the site of various other early cathedrals. The current church was built between 1463 and 1591, it dominates the village center. We visited the church, walked around the village square, and had fun at the vide grenier. I bought a basket for 4 euros.
We continued our drive southwest to Nogaro, famous for it’s Armagnac and it’s motor sports race track, built in 1960. Nogaro was having a fete, so their vide grenier was up and down every street, they were serving Floc apéritifs… it was a party! We shopped and bought a set of five antique ceramic candle holders. We visited Collégiale Saint Nicolas, an 11th century Romanesque church built in Nogaro on the pilgrimage route of Saint Jacques de Compostelle. The church suffered greatly in the wars of religion and the French Revolution and was restored in the 1800’s. After the 1995 discover of 11th century frescos, the church was listed as an historic building. The frescos, considered the best in the Gers, depict the martyrdom of Saint Laurent and are notable for technique and rare materials - such as the blue pigment found only in Iraq.
Nogaro’s streets were closed, so we took a detour, and stopped for lunch in Aignan, the first capital of Armagnac, founded in 620. The village and it’s eglise were burned in 1355 by the Black Prince. We had a nice lunch at a restaurant on the village square and we visited Eglise Saint-Saturnin de Lartigue, a Romanesque church built in the 12th century. It’s massive bell tower crowns the village.
We had a wonderful Saturday drive, about 200 km, and all the villages we visited were new to us.
