Dear friends of the Montautre site,
Here is the twelfth edition of the "Petit journal des amis de Montautre", and the promise of irregular publication is... kept! Those who want more regular information can follow us on Instagram (chateaudemontautre) or Facebook (serge lacaze). Of course, don't hesitate to ask us to remove you from the mailing list... or, conversely, you can subscribe friends who wish to!
0. News
The summer was marked by the rise of the bed and breakfast activity, by the holding of a Gallic day and by the start of rework to save the chapel and the turret. Le Populaire du Center devoted a full page to the castle's guest rooms, emphasizing the extent to which the values of authenticity, tranquility and biodiversity which characterize Montautre are in tune with the times ( see article in Le Populaire du Center from July 2023 available on the site). Customers seem to agree since their evaluations of the experience are really positive: the average ratings are 5/5 on Airbnb, Tripadvisor, Google, 9.8/10 on Booking - which classifies us in the "exceptional" category and 10/10 on Expedia.
At the end of July, the Gallic day ("By Toutatis, the Gauls are in Montautre") which was our first major event on the site was sold out, with 55 people for the banquet in the guard room and 80 people for the workshops, archaeological visits and the afternoon conference.
Finally, the rescue of the chapel and the turret was the subject of a report on France3 Nouvelle Aquitaine (link here: https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/nouvelle- aquitaine/haute-vienne/video-six-centuries-of-history-to-be-saved-urgently-in-limousin-a-call-for-donations-is-launched-by-the-heritage-foundation- 2811053.html ).
Next activity: the two guided tours planned at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday September 16 and Sunday September 17 for the European Heritage Days: there are still around forty places left: tell anyone who may be interested: you must register on our site or by email at contact@chateau-de-montautre.fr !
1. Gallo-Roman history
The Peutinger Map is a medieval copy (dated 1265) of the ancient map of cities and major roads throughout the Roman Empire. In the central part of the map below, Limoges is represented by 2 small houses (under the name "Ausrito", short for Augustoritum)  where the map is a little damaged. On the right, Praetorio, a sanctuary dedicated to Jupiter, is today located in the town of Saint Goussaud. From Praetorio, two routes leave: the lower one, Via Agrippa, goes east to Puy de Dôme (temple of Mercury) then to Lyon, and the upper one goes north to Argantomago (today Argenton -sur-Creuse). It is this route which passes right next to Montautre, which can be located at the inflection point located under the "i" of Beturiges.
After his conference in Montautre, the Gallo-Roman expert from Haute-Vienne Jean-Pierre Loustaud, confirmed to us that he would personally participate in the start of excavations on the presumed site of the temple of Mercure de Montautre, in association with the DRAC (Fabien Loubignac ) and our two student archaeologists Anne-Claire Leleu and Margaux Ranty. We hope to start before winter!
2. Classical era
At the time of the troubles which accompanied the marriage of Louis XIII, the Prince of Condé, being at the camp of Chateauroux, granted to Gabriel Mondin de Montostre - who served under his orders - a letter of protection for his good and loyal services (see photo below). This letter exempted him from the responsibility of housing war personnel... whose behavior was rarely appropriate!
A great recognition from the 1st peer of France!
And that's it for our twelfth little diary... while waiting for the next one!
If you pass near Montautre, do not hesitate to let us know: we will be happy to see you all again on this site so well maintained by Kitty and Adri. See you soon !
Kind regards
Serge