Rouges du Languedoc

Abstract

At the request of the lord and abbot of Caunes, the Genoese sculptor Sormano reopened the marble quarries in the 1610s. Six Italian masters moved to Caunes and sent Languedoc marble to Carrara, at the same time they were transporting white marble from Italy. Around 1658 a French architect, Jean Baux, was in charge of furnishing the carved parts of the south-west churches, alone, or in association with the Italian marble workers. The extent of the orders for the royal buildings favoured the sculptor from Caunes, causing the arrival of many marble workers, from sculptors to manual labourers. Archival documents emphasize the privileged position of the Caunes and Félines quarries, from specifying the means of transport and the techniques, of analyzing the role of intermediaries in trade with Italy and the Batiments du Roi.