Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: cellar

An abbey, dedicated to Saint Saturnin, first bishop of Toulouse, is mentioned already in 825. In 870 the relics of Saint Hilaire, who had evangelized the region in the 6th century and was the first bishop of Carcassonne were "translated" to the abbey. During the Albigensian Crusade the monks were accused of heresy - and the abbey got looted. It got re-established, but the plague and the Hundred Years' War caused more difficulties to the abbey and the village around it. The fortifications erected at that time did not prevent severe damages during the Wars of Religions. After a period of decline, the abbey closed in 1748, since then the church served the parish of the village. The cellar was the place, where the monks produced wine. Excavated out of the sandstone, the cellar is ideal with its regular temperture and a high level of dampness. It is widely believed that the world's first sparkling wine, named "Blanquette", was created in 1531 by the monks in the cellar of the Abbaye de Saint-Hilaire. "Blanquette de Limoux" produced by the "méthode ancestrale" is available all over the Languedoc.

Split, the largest city of Dalmatia, was (just like neighbouring Trogir) as the Greek colony in the 4th century BC. Roman emperor Diocletian had a palace built as a retirement residence near Salona, the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia at that time. After the Romans abandoned the site, the Palace remained empty for several centuries, but when Salona was sacked by Avars and Slavs in the 7th century, the walled Palace of Diocletian was settled by refugees from Salona. Since the the palace has been occupied, with residents making their homes and businesses within the palace basement and directly in its walls. Today the remains of the palace form about half the old town and city center of Split. In 1979 the historic center of Split was included into the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Beneath the palace are large cellars. Due to the immense downpour, the lower parts and subterranean tunnels were already flooded, when I entered. The higher parts house a kind of bazaar for the tourists. But when the gully turned into a fountain I left the cellars pretty fast.

Split, the largest city of Dalmatia, was (just like neighbouring Trogir) as the Greek colony in the 4th century BC. Roman emperor Diocletian had a palace built as a retirement residence near Salona, the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia at that time. After the Romans abandoned the site, the Palace remained empty for several centuries, but when Salona was sacked by Avars and Slavs in the 7th century, the walled Palace of Diocletian was settled by refugees from Salona. Since the the palace has been occupied, with residents making their homes and businesses within the palace basement and directly in its walls. Today the remains of the palace form about half the old town and city center of Split. In 1979 the historic center of Split was included into the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Beneath the palace are large cellars. Placed in the deeper ones now is a museum. Maybe this subterranean underground once has been used as cistern. Due to the immense downpour, the museum got flooded.