aqueduct near
Nîmes Language Prior to the 20th century,
Occitan was the language spoken in Languedoc, and
Catalan was the language spoken in Roussillon. Both have been under pressure from French. In 2004, research conducted by the Government of Catalonia showed that 65% of adults over the age of 15 in Roussillon could understand Catalan whereas 37% stated they were able to speak it. In recent years there have been attempts at reviving of both languages, including Catalan-medium schooling through the
La Bressola schools.
Literature Occitan literature – still sometimes called Provençal literature – is a body of texts written in Occitan in what is nowadays the South of France. It originated in the poetry of the eleventh- and twelfth-century troubadours, and inspired the rise of vernacular literature throughout medieval Europe.
Music Aimeric de Peguilhan,
Giraut de Bornelh and
Bertran de Born were major influences in
troubadour composition, in the
High Middle Ages. The troubadour tradition is considered to have originated in the region. The
Romantic music composer
Déodat de Séverac was born in the region, and, following his schooling in Paris, returned to the region to compose. He sought to incorporate the music indigenous to the area in his compositions.
Wine The Languedoc-Roussillon region is dominated by of
vineyards, three times the combined area of the vineyards in
Bordeaux and the region has been an important winemaking centre for several centuries. Grapevines are said to have existed in the South of France since the
Pliocene period - before the existence of
Homo sapiens. The first vineyards of Gaul developed around two towns:
Béziers and
Narbonne. The
Mediterranean climate and plentiful land with soil ranging from rocky sand to thick clay was very suitable for the production of
wine, and it is estimated that one in ten bottles of the world's wine was produced in this region during the 20th century (Robinson 1999:395). Despite this enormous quantity, the area's significance was often overlooked by scholarly publications and commercial journals, largely because very little of the wine being produced was classified under an
appellation contrôlée until the 1980s (Joseph 2005:190). Several entrepreneurs such as Robert Skalli and James Herrick drastically changed the face of the region, planting more commercially viable
grape varieties and pushing for new AOC classifications. While the AOC system has origins in the 15th century, the Languedoc-Roussillon has some appellations like the
Cabardès which have existed by law only since 1999 (Joseph 2005:190). The region is the largest contributor to the European Union's glut (dominance of supply over demand) of wine known as the
wine lake. The Languedoc-Roussillon region has adopted a
marque to help market its products, in particular, but not limited to, wine. The (
Southern France) marque was adopted in 2006 to help customers abroad not familiar with the
Appellation system to recognise those wines that originated in the L-R area, but the marque is also used for other products, including
cheeses,
olive oils and pies.
Sport Languedoc-Roussillon has been a major center of
Rugby league in France since the sport was introduced to the country in the 1930s. The region is also home to the rugby union teams
AS Béziers Hérault,
RC Narbonne and
USA Perpignan. Since the following years of the retirement of this region, the popularity has gone down.
Montpellier is home to
Montpellier HSC, which was founded in 1974 and plays in the
Ligue 1, the French top division. It won the French Championship after the 2011/12 season. Home matches are played at the Stade La Mosson, named after the area where it is located, with a capacity of 31,250. It was built in 1998. == Notable people ==