Panorama Photo

The Cité de Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude department (southwest of France). The fortification consists of a double ring of ramparts and 53 towers.

The medieval fortifications were renovated by the architect Viollet-le-Duc in 1853.
The restoration was strongly criticized during Viollet-le-Duc's lifetime. Fresh from work in the north of France, he made the error of using slates and restoring the roofs as pointed cones, where local practice was traditionally of tile roofing and low slopes, in a snow-free environment. Yet, overall, Viollet-le-Duc's achievement at Carcassonne is agreed to be a work of genius, though not of the strictest authenticity.