Saintes

Saintes, an old town of France, dept. Charente-Inférieure, on the left bank of the Charente, 28 miles by rail SE. of Rochefort, has manufactures of iron and copper goods, machinery, and leather. In ancient times this town, under the name of Mediolanum, was the capital of the Santones, from whom the subsequent province derived the name of Saintonge (see ROLAND, Vol. VIII. p. 766). Its interesting Roman remains include a triumphal arch and the ruins of an amphitheatre. It was a bishop's seat down to 1790; the cathedral still stands. Palissy's home was at Saintes during the first fifty years or so of his life. Pop. 14,558.