THE CASTLE

This military fortress, a strategic point between the two ancient provinces of Gévaudan and Vivarais, guarded the Régordane road linking the Massif Central to the Mediterranean Languedoc. The well-preserved keep is topped by a large statue of the Virgin Mary, installed in 1878, shortly before Stevenson's visit, as he notes with a touch of disdain in his diary: "ses sacrés cinquante quintaux de Madone toute neuve." The main building features a distinctive wheat-ear pattern, quite rare in the region.