Le Puy-en-Velay

Le Puy rises among the volcanic heights of the Velay, its cathedral approached by steep streets and steps. Devotion to the Virgin made the bishop's city a renowned place of pilgrimage, and travellers also set out from here for Santiago de Compostela. Bishop Godescalc made that journey in 950, becoming one of the earliest recorded pilgrims from beyond the Pyrenees. The town was also known for its lace. Worked with small wooden bobbins, the delicate craft provided employment across the surrounding country. By the eighteenth century merchants carried its products far from the Velay, bringing the handiwork of local women into markets well beyond the pilgrimage roads.