8. Desire for the limelight
Tuesday 26, november 2013
You are in front of the Louvigny Bastion, a name that is also present on three of the plaques commented on in this route. This persistence may lead us to think that all the fortifications built on the hill after the War of the Spanish Succession had Louvigny as the founder, when in fact they were the result of different interventions and periods. In fact, the bastion had been built during the Catalan Revolt. Known by the name Cantelmo, a count, who loved the limelight, thus changing the name in addition to remodelling it into two different platforms, the bastion and the Louvigny Counter Bastion.
The Cantelmo Bastion was precisely the scene of one of the events that would mark the end of the siege of Lleida. Around 10 November 1707, and after two months of fierce defence, an accidental explosion of gunpowder placed in this bastion destroyed a large part of the wall of that sector and a considerable number of cannons. Faced with an impending final assault by supporters of Philip V, the garrison of Lleida surrendered.
You will find another QR code at the Louvigny Bastion.