Carcassonne
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Carcassonne is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, region of Occitania. It is the prefecture of the department.
Aerial photograph of the Cité de Carcassonne
Miniature depicting Cathars being expelled from Carcassonne in 1209
Expansion of the Frankish Empire: Blue = realm of Pepin the Short in 758; Orange = expansion under Charlemagne until 814; Yellow = Marches and dependencies; Red = Papal States.
This medieval drawing of Carcassonne from 1462, discovered by Jean-Pierre Cros-Mayrevieille in the Gaignières collection of the Bibliothèque Royale, had a major influence on the project to restore Carcassonne. It reinforced Viollet-le-Duc's idea that all of the towers were topped with conical roof trussing.
Occitan language
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Occitan, also known as lenga d'òc by its native speakers, sometimes also referred to as Provençal, is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Valleys, as well as Spain's Val d'Aran in Catalonia; collectively, these regions are sometimes referred to as Occitania. It is also spoken in Calabria in a linguistic enclave of Cosenza area. Some include Catalan in Occitan, as the distance between this language and some Occitan dialects is similar to the distance between different Occitan dialects. Catalan was considered a dialect of Occitan until the end of the 19th century and still today remains its closest relative.
This bilingual street sign in Toulouse, like many such signs found in Toulouse's historical districts, is maintained primarily for its antique charm, and is typical of what little remains of the lenga d'òc in southern French cities.
Aranese signage in Bossòst, Val d'Aran, Spain
Occitan dialects according to Pierre Bec
Supradialectal classification of Occitan according to Bec