Rock of Vergisson, Limestone summit in Saône-et-Loire, France
The Rock of Vergisson is a limestone escarpment in the commune of Vergisson, Saône-et-Loire, rising to 483 metres, about 10 metres lower than the neighbouring Rock of Solutré. Its summit is a flat-topped plateau with a steep, pale cliff band on the right side, above green slopes and cultivated fields separated by pale lines.
People settled in this area during prehistoric times and used the natural elevation for strategic purposes. Over the centuries, the region developed into the wine-producing landscape visible today.
The slopes carry vineyards divided by dry-stone walls called murgers, and they produce Pouilly-Fuissé, Saint-Véran and Mâcon wines. Alphonse de Lamartine described Solutré and Vergisson as "two petrified ships overlooking a sea of vineyards". Each year the Randonnée des deux Roches links Solutré to Vergisson.
The summit is reached on foot; the climb from the village passes the dry-stone-walled vineyards on the slopes. The limestone cliff band below the plateau is the climbing sector, with 122 recorded routes shared with Remigny as one of the department's two main crags. The annual Randonnée des deux Roches links Solutré and Vergisson.
On 7 June 1992, President François Mitterrand climbed the Rock of Vergisson instead of Solutré to avoid farmers, former Algerian settlers and journalists waiting at the foot of the neighbouring rock during his ritual ascent. The limestone cliffs here, with those of Remigny, form one of the two largest climbing sites in Saône-et-Loire, with 122 recorded routes.
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