Lodève started as the capital of a Volque tribe (the Lutevani) before
becoming the Roman city Luteva (also known as Forum Neronis). The town was a
stopping point on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela via the Arles road.
An episcopal city until the French Revolution, it was also a centre for textile
production under Louis XV and was home to one of only two royal manufactories
for tapestry, the other being the one of the Gobelins in Paris.
More recently, the area was the centre of a
firm resistance against the Nazi occupation during the Second World War.
