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Francescas |
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Francescas
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| Administration | |
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| Country | France |
| Region | Aquitaine |
| Department | Lot-et-Garonne |
| Arrondissement | Arrondissement of Nérac |
| Canton | Canton of Francescas |
| Mayor | Raymond Soucaret (PR) (2008–2014) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 63–171 m (207–561 ft) (avg. 127 m/417 ft) |
| Land area1 | 21.23 km2 (8.20 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 714 (1999) |
| - Density | 34 /km2 (88 /sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 47102/ 47600 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Francescas is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France. The village of Francescas is one of only a dozen Bastide Villages in the region. While its inhabitants number less than eight hundred, it is neither isolated, nor without commerce. A kind and friendly village, having lots of commerce: bakery, grocery, butcher, gas station/news agent, bank, pharmacy, post office, hairdresser, tailor, small bar/hotel, highly rated fine restaurant, small regional museum, and gendarmerie.
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Francescas is located 27 m. SW. of Agen, between Bordeaux and Toulouse
The most celebrated regional specialty is foie gras, specially prepared livers of geese and ducks, seasoned and stuffed with regional truffles. Confit (preserved goose and duck) is very famous and Francescas is a part of the Armagnac region.
First mentioned in local history in 1025, Francescas is a bastide village founded by Edward I of England in 1286 when this region alternated under French and English domain. The bastide, originally with its surrounding wall, extended in either direction from a profound Romanesque Church. Surrounded by walls, these villages were called bastide, for they were mainly built as a military defensive position. Inside the bastide, the old village was built to a grid layout, tiny streets connecting at right angles. At the center of the grid was, and still is an arcaded square.
Francescas belonged in the 11th century to the abbaye of Gourdon. The construction of the city was prior to the walled towns of Agen, which dates from the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1369, Charles V of France offered the city of Francescas to the Comte d'Armagnac. Francescas also became the seat of a bailiwick of 1264 which lasted until the french revolution. The church and a town (villa) are quoted in 1161 among the goods of the abbey of Condom, in P. Simon. Siege of bailiwick in 1264 (Samazeuilh). According to Abbe Barrère, the abbot of Condom and the King conclude a pareage in 1285, as a result of customs which were granted to the city, it having 4 consuls. In 1286, a castrum mention is held by the abbot of Condom, Gers and the King of France.
Etienne de Vignolles, called La Hire, (Born 1390 - died 11 January 1443) was a French military commander during the Hundred Years' War. He fought alongside Joan of Arc in the campaigns of 1429. He owned a house in Francescas, which is still there.
The share of the Bishop of Condom was auctioned in 1576 and redeemed in 1582 by the lord of Lasserre, Jean Paul 's Esparbes Lussan; the remains of the latter was near the door Larque south, succeeding to the old episcopal residence. The settlement was enclosed by a strong fortification, surrounded by moats, and opened with 4 doors (of Bordeaux, the Well of Larque, Newfoundland or Ligardes), a fortress was mentioned in the city at the end of the 16th century. Two blockhouses were destroyed in 1590 for the safety of residents. From mid-16th century up to 1621, the inhabitants inside Francescas supported religious struggles, and therefor the walls are constantly being repaired. Larque gate was rebuilt during the 1st quarter of the 17th century. The paving of streets and the alignment contained in the decisions of mid 17th century. In 1660, the door of Bordeaux fell into ruin; in the years 1770-1780, the fortifications that no longer serve are definitely demolished and another door is destroyed. A number of houses have been rebuilt in the 2nd half of the 18th and early 19th centuries, the extension of the village 's made along roads, particularly in northern and east part of Francescas.