Carcassonne is the perfect home base for taking day trips throughout the region. One day we drove up to Saint-Papoul, a twelfth-century monastery northwest of here. The exterior of the apse preserves two capitals carved by the Master of Cabestany, the late 12-century sculptor whose work we have tracked throughout Languedoc (St Hilaire, Lagrasse, Rieux-Minervois, etc).Our travels northeast of Carcassonne took us to the monastery of Sts Peter and Paul at Caunes-Minervois, dating from the 11th-13th centuries. The most amazing building we visited, however, was at Rieux-Minervois. Rather than being rectangular, the beautifully preserved 12th-century sanctuary is septagonal. The domed vaults rest on seven pillars arranged in a circle. To top if all off, several of the columns have incredible carved capitals, including a masterpiece by the peripatetic Master of Cabestany.
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