Aiguillon (probably from ‘the needle’) lies at the narrow confluence between the Lot and the Garonne. Significant and strategic, the site has been occupied since the Neolithic age, and was important in the Gallo-Roman period.

In more modern history, Aiguillon was occupied in the C10th and C11th and a bastide was created in 1296. By 1346 the town was an important English stronghold of the Hundred Years war and withstood a six-month siege by Jean de Normandie, son of French king. However, it was overcome in a violent attack in 1350. The town was the property of the lords of Montpezat, with agricultural workers and wine-growers on the south bank and boatmen on the north.

The C18th was undoubtedly Aiguillon’s golden century, thanks to the transformative efforts of Duke of Aiguillon, Emmanuel-Armand de Vignerod (1720-1788), exiled minister of Louis XV. He had constructed, a superb chateau facing the river on one side and a huge formal square on the other. The classical architecture mirrored the episcopal palaces at Auch and Agen. The resulting symmetrical town plan remains incomplete but is a beautiful example. The Revolution put a halt to further architectural splendours.