Cesse Aqueduct, Navigable aqueduct in Mirepeisset, France.
The Cesse Aqueduct is a water bridge in Mirepeisset that carries the Canal du Midi across the Cesse River. The structure contains three stone arches of different sizes, with the middle one wider than the two on either side.
The canal originally crossed the Cesse on the level, using a curved dam 205 m long and 9.10 m high built under Pierre-Paul Riquet to raise the water. Floods made this crossing unreliable, so Vauban recommended an aqueduct during his inspection tour; Antoine Niquet drew the plans and master mason Jean Goudet built it between 1689 and 1690. Its upstream face was later entirely reworked after violent floods, while the downstream face is unchanged since the 17th century.
The bridge takes its name from the Cesse, the river it crosses beside the hamlet of Sallèles-d'Aude, about 1.8 km from the port of Le Somail. In 1967 Robert Dhéry filmed a scene of "Le Petit Baigneur" here with Louis de Funès. Nearby stand the épanchoir des Patiasses and the Porte Minervoise, where the Mirepeisset feeder channel meets the canal.
Visitors can view the structure from the riverbank or walking paths to see how water flows above while the river passes below. The best vantage point is from the side where the river flows underneath the bridge.
The upstream facade was rebuilt after severe Cesse floods, while the downstream facade has kept its 17th-century form. In 1967 a scene from Robert Dhéry's film Le Petit Baigneur, with Louis de Funès, was shot at the aqueduct.
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