Description : Saint-Émilion (Gascon: Sent Milion) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in Southwestern France. In 2016, it had a population of 1,938. In the heart of the country of Libournais (the area around Libourne), in a region of wine hills, Saint-Emilion is a medieval city located at the crossroads of Bordeaux, Saintonge and Périgord. Saint-Émilion's history goes back to prehistoric times. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with fascinating Romanesque churches and ruins stretching all along steep and narrow streets. The Romans planted vineyards in what was to become Saint-Émilion as early as the 2nd century. In the 4th century, the Latin poet Ausonius lauded the fruit of the bountiful vine. Saint-Émilion, previously called Ascumbas, was renamed after the Breton monk Émilion (d.767), a travelling confessor, who settled in a hermitage carved into the rock there in the 8th century. The monks who followed him started up the commercial wine production in the area.
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