Country France Department Tarn Population (2006) 557 Area 64.04 km² | Region Occitanie Canton Vaour Time zone CET (UTC+1) Arrondissement Albi | |
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Penne (Occitan: Pena, meaning (large) feather) is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France.
Contents
Map of Penne, France
Prehistory
The first traces of activity date back to the Bronze Age. In the middle of the 19th century, Jean-Baptiste Noulet explored a cave called Le Cuzoul d'Armand, and discovered several artifacts, including a bronze pearl necklace.
Middle-Age
The ancient village of Penne d’Albigeois is built on a mountain spur dominated by the ruins of a 12th-century fortress, hence its nickname, the “Vertigo Citadel”, or the “Impregnable”. This remarkable site, over the Aveyron, was highly strategic in the Middle-Age, though the fortress itself was relatively spared by the Albigensian Crusade.
Mentions of the castle of Penne can be found as early as the 11th century, when the local Lady was known to be an Albigensian, but the main towers date back to the 13th and 14th century. Remains include the dungeon, ramparts and a chapel.