NANTES CIVITAS

Nantes has been selected by Roberto Amati in relation to the real history of european integration, then enlisted in the CITY OR CIVITAS category, accompanied by own fact SHEET useful to the comprehension, completed of historical MAPS AND IMAGES or with a direct linking to the related Blog contents dedicated to the the aeternitas and the future of Europe.

Nantes is one of the most ancient cities of the history of European integration, signed in great part by Christianity. It was founded centuries B.C. during the 'La tène' culture age by Celts Namnetes tribe, whose name was used by the Romans when conquered the region. Where is it? Nantes was built as a castra in I century A.D. on the estuary of the Loire river into the Atlantic Ocean, called Portus Namnetum and inhabited by Celts together with Italics: the Civitas Nantes was included into the Roman Respublica, a station on the Gallica Way starting in Vannes and passing through Tours to end in Autun.

Within the reform of Augustus (see Roman Empire), Nantes was included into the Gallia Lugdunensis province and obtained the building of an amphitheatre, the public baths and a temple dedicated to Olympian god Mars, moreover inhabitants were allowed to build a defence wall against Barbarians attacks which are still visible today. With the reform of Constantine I (see Christian Empire), Nantes became part of the Galliarum Diocesi starting the evangelization of Gallia and Brittany provinces under the bishopric founded in III century A.D. and the ancient cahthedral built at that epoch. At the falling of Western Roman Empire, the city was included into the Neustria Regna after a long siege in 490 A.D. so that Nantes became the main fortress against Bretons and Vikings.

With the renovatio imperii of Charlemagne the city was elevated to capital of the Breton March and enfeoffed to his nepew Roland, the protagonist of the 'Matter of France' literature piece. After the death of the frankish emperor, Bretons took control of Nantes and annexed to their Brittany Duchy under the homonimous dinasty, but the city was contended all along the Middle Age with the Plantagenet dinasty and the House of Montfort, who in XIV century A.D. won the succession war and reinforced the Brittany institutions and the port of Nantes, starting trades with foreign countries, exporting salt wine, fabrics and hemp to the British archipelago, having permission for opening the city university in 1460 A.D..

In Modern era, Nantes remained the main catholic bishopric in the northern France kingdom and a strategic port for trading with Britain and the Americans colonies. In 1491 A.D., Brittany was annexed by marriage to the French royal family, but during the 'Religious wars' Nantes formed an independent government allied to Spain kingdom against the new king Henry IV of Borbone dinasty and obliged the king to conversion to Catholicism and to enact the famous 'Edict of tolerance' signed in the city in 1610 A.D.. Since then, Nantes and Bittany followed the destiny and history of the country, in a declination culminated with the bombing during the Second World War: then the city was flooded to became an island connected to the other side river town of Saint-Nazare.

Today Nantes is the France's largest food producer and seat of the European aeronautics industry, while its buildings famous to be made with the tuffeau stone from Loire Valley are enlisted in the French monuments historiques. Over the Saint-Étienne chapel in the Saint-Donatien cemetery outside the city centre, dates to VI century A.D. and originary part of a Roman necropolis, and the medieval centre including the ancient cathedral and the castle of the dukes. Nantes is a medium size town in the north-west of France, capital of the Pays the la Loire region, around 340km of distance from Paris, whose patron is Saint Clair the first bishop ot the city and buried in the seat of the cathedral.

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