Lagamas


Lagamas is a commune in the Hérault département in the Occitanie region in southern France.

Geography

This commune is located in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, in the Hérault département, in the canton of Gignac. The village is part of the Hérault's 4th constituency.

Climate

In 2010, the climate of the commune is classified as a frank Mediterranean climate, according to a study based on a dataset covering the 1971-2000 period. In 2020, Météo-France published a typology of climates in mainland France in which the commune is exposed to a Mediterranean climate and is part of the Provence, Languedoc-Roussillon climatic region, characterised by low rainfall in summer, very good sunshine, a hot summer, very dry air in summer, dry conditions in all seasons, strong winds, and little fog.
For the 1971-2000 period, the average annual temperature was with an annual atmospheric temperature of. The average annual total rainfall during this period was 849 mm, with 6.8 days of precipitation in January and 3.1 days in July. For the subsequent period of 1991 to 2020, the average annual temperature observed at the nearest weather station, located in the commune of Saint-André-de-Sangonis, away as the crow flies, is and the average annual total rainfall is 652.4 mm.
For the future, climate parameters for the commune projected for 2050, based on different greenhouse gas emission scenarios, can be consulted on a dedicated website published by Météo-France in November 2022.

Urbanism

Land use

The commune's land use, as revealed by the European biophysical land cover database Corine Land Cover, is characterised by the importance of agricultural land, an increase compared to 1990. The detailed breakdown in 2018 is as follows: permanent crops, heterogeneous agricultural areas, forests. Changes in land use in the municipality and its infrastructure can be seen on various maps of the area: the Cassini map, the carte d'état-major and IGN maps or aerial photos for the current period.

Architecture

The church, Notre-Dame de la Garrigue, was built by Élodie Martin, the widow of the textile magnate Jean-Pierre Balsan as a homage to her husband. The Balsan family is known to have inhabited Lagamas since at least 1576. The church, with its unusual gothic style, is a miniature inspired by the Châteauroux cathedral, a city where the Balsan family had acquired the Manufacture Royale de Drap de Châteauroux in 1856.
The church was completed in around 1874. An extensive renovation was finalised in 2007.
The same widow built the large mansion facing the church, known locally as the château. It hosts an annual multi-disciplinary artist residency organised by the Cornelius Arts Foundation.