the Via Domitia and the Path of Santiago

On the footsteps of Roman Legions and pilgrims

Via Domitia starts in the Alps, in the Col du Mont Genèvre (summae Alpes), 1858m-high. From there it went along the Durance Valley to Glanum, nearby Saint-Rémy de Provence.

In the Alpes de Haute-Provence, it crossed Segustero / Sisteron. The city was a populous crossroad. Indeed, you could cross the Durance there and it was not the case everywhere. It was the only stone bridge on the Durance until the XIXth century. At the time, the city was where you find the old city today. The Via Domitia crossed it in its middle, now known as the Rue Droite and the Rue de la Saunerie. After that, it remains on the right bank of the Durance.

Then, it went on towards Val-Saint-Donat and Ganagobie. At the foot of the Plateau of Ganagobie, the Via crossed the Buès on a 10m-high arched bridge. This bridge has been restored several times and now carries the road to Lurs.

The Via went on to Aulanium / Notre-Dame-des-Anges. It was the most important station on this section of the road, in the middle of Lurs Hill. Then it crossed the plateau of Mane. In Tavernoure, a tavern (taberna) was certainly found. Down south of Saint-Michel l’Observatoire, it crossed the Reculon thanks to a fording site still to be seen today. Magnificently built, its size is 25x6m. It then crossed the Col des Granons.

You then reached Catuiacia / Céreste where some antic remains of the mutation where found. A bridge crossed the Aiguebelle, a double-arched magnificent piece of art. Some remains of this bridge are still found in the riverbed, lying on a huge stone slab (large blocks assembled with care) able to resist the violent flooding waters of the Aiguebelle. The so-called Roman bridge on the Encrême was built in the XVIIIth century.

Even though it was built for Roman Legions in the first place, merchants soon used the Via. Later, Republic officials and later on Empire officials used it. The building of the Via gave a tremendous boost to local economy by allowing trade between the cities.