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The Périgord, which was inhabited by man as far back as 450,000 years ago, is a historic territory of exception. The shelters and caves of the Vézère valley offer the public a unique testimonial of the lifestyle of our ancestors. This land still abounds with the vestiges of gallo-roman cities, religious buildings (Romanesque art) or medieval forts.
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With the discovery of prehistoric caves and shelters, the history of the Périgord goes back well beyond any dates. However, one can reasonably assert that the history of the Périgord began in the Roman period, when the inhabitants of the Dordogne were the ‘Petrucores’. The first traces of the emergence of our Périgord territory date to its attachment to the Roman province of Aquitaine.
In the 10th century the Périgord was divided into baronnies: Beynac, Biron, Bourdeilles, and Mareuil. In the 12th century, the Périgord became a county and the abbeys of Boschaud, Cadouin, Chancelade and Sarlat were built. Following the French Revolution, the Constituante established the Dordogne, and defined its communes and cantons.
Despite the rural exodus of the 19th century, agriculture remained an important activity and was complemented in the 20th century by the development of tourism. |
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