Roman City Vasio Vocontiorum

The region was originally inhabited by Celto-Ligurians, who introduced bronze. The Celtic Vocontii people, who for centuries moved between the banks of the Ouvèze, had their first oppidum on a hilltop, serving as their regional capital. After the Roman conquest in the 2nd century BC, the Celts settled in the fertile plains. The Romans enhanced the city of their allies, equipping it with villas, a theater, baths, an aqueduct, and a bridge, causing its population to grow to about 10,000. Vasio belonged to the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis and was heavily damaged during the Frankish invasion. In the 12th century, Count Raymond VI of Toulouse built a medieval castle in place of the Celtic fortress, which attracted residents to the upper town. In the 14th century, Vaison came under the papal possession of the Comtat Venaissin, to which it belonged until the French Revolution.