At the origins of passion
From the dawn of time, Man has imbued this remarkable site with his history, leaving his precious mark. Explore, through the ages, the fascinating evolution of the Grand Site of Solutré-Pouilly-Vergisson.
Gallo-Roman influence
From the Ier century BC, Gallo-Roman influence shapes the landscape of the Grand Site of Solutré-Pouilly-Vergisson on the outskirts of the imposing Roche. The lush forests of the valleys give way to pastures and the limestone hillsides welcome viticulture. The cultivable plots are carefully preserved and the “saltus” appear. These are areas of forests and meadows dedicated to pasture on summits and ridges.
Combining agriculture, livestock, viticulture and production of firewood, this organization of the landscape then allows a autarkic economy laying the foundations for a continuous occupation from the site to the present day.
enigmatic and strategic medieval fortress
In the Middle Ages, the Rock of Solutré was of crucial strategic importance. A castle, of which only a few traces remain today, then stands on the edge of the escarpment. Attributed to King Raoul (923-936), the construction of this fortress would have sought to protect the borders on the Beaujolais side. In 1330, Jean de Braine sold the county of Mâcon to the king of France. The canons of the chapter of Saint-Vincent, who had received custody of the castle from Philippe Auguste, abandoned their rights. The conflicts between Armagnac and Bourbon then threaten the citadel with destruction. In 1435, Duke Philip the Good, fearing that it would fall into the wrong hands and threaten the Mâconnais, ordered it to be dismantled. The destruction of the castle, theater of battles fierce, is a relief for the population.
In the nineteenthe century, excavations revealed some wall foundations, still visible today, and clues to the location of the fortress buildings. Adrien Arcelin's analysis now allows us to understand that the strategic position of the fortress counted more than its power.
what the monks leave behind
The exe century marks the founding of the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny and the rise of vineyard maconnais. The monasteries created wine estates and undertook land clearing and embankment work. There vine cultivation is now more important than pastures and other cereal crops.
The footprint of Agriculture
In the nineteenthe century, the rural population is at its peak and the land is widely cultivated. Agriculture sculpts the panorama along the slopes, creating a rich and varied landscape mosaic. Woods and moors occupy the summit giving way to vineyards on the hillsides. Cultivable land is located at the foot of the slopes and meadows at the bottom of the valleys. There viticulture becomes predominant because it is more profitable than cereal cultivation. Temporarily slowed down in the middle of the century by the crisis of phylloxera, she quickly resumed her domination of the site.
During the first half of the 20th century, agriculture remains diversified, combining breeding and land products. The second half of the century witnessed the virtual disappearance of livestock farming in favor of vines. Boxwood groves, or buxaids, then appear on the cliffs and lawns.
A great site and men
Evoking the famous landscape of the Grand Site, the verses of the Mâconnais poet Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1849) resonate like an echo of what, since the dawn of time, men have admired here: “Two petrified ships overlooking a sea of vines.”
More recently, François Mitterrand (1916-1996) left his mark there, making the Roche de Solutré a place of annual pilgrimage, conducive to observing developments in the world and to exchanges with the press.
Witness silent as time passes, a link between the ages, the Grand Site de France Solutré Pouilly Vergisson combines harmoniously past and present. This land, through the centuries, shapes the lives and destinies of those who cross it.