Sainte-Argène-sur-Barmie: Five Things Everyone Knows

Situated on the Mediterranean coast of the province of Languedoc, Sainte-Argène-sur-Barmie is an important port city for trade with the Italian peninsula and, in recent decades, the Ottoman beyliks of the North African Maghreb. Casks of wine and olive oil and bags of salt and grain line the city's bustling quay.

The city is home to the vicomte de Sainte-Argène, the bishop-seigneur of its great cathedral, and the abbot of a rich and influential Benedictine abbey, but Sainte-Argène is governed by a trio of consuls selected by the wealthy and powerful bourgeoisie. The consuls and the bourgeoisie zealously protect their royal privileges over trade, taxation, and justice.

Sainte-Argène is a polyglot city. While French is the language of business, government, and the aristocracy, most of the inhabitants speak Occitan as their first language, while Italian, Venetian, Greek, and a smattering of English, Dutch, and Spanish may be heard, especially on the quay and in the chambre des marchands, the city's chamber of commerce.

During the Wars of Religion, Sainte-Argène sided with the Catholic League against the Huguenots, who nearly took the city by seige and subterfuge nonetheless. Many Protestants were expelled subsequently - and ministers burned at the stake by the Dominican friars of the Inquisition - but under the personal protection of the vicomte, a number of Huguenot families remain in the city.

As a consequence of the Wars of Religion, the citadel of Sainte-Argène was expanded and new bastions built, garrisoned by royal troops. The consuls and the chamber of commerce fund two privateer galleys to protect the city and trade; service on the galleys is a point of civic pride. A commandery of the Hospitaller Knights of Saint John is located in Sainte-Argène and the order's galleys often call on the city as well.