Lodève is a commune in the Hérault département in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. The derivation of the city's name is the gaulois Luteva, composed of lut-, swamp, mud + suffix -eva. It might therefore translate as the muddy place or the swamp city.GeographyLodève lies where the plains rise up to the Larzac plateau, from Montpellier, in the valley of the Lergue river where that river is joined by the smaller Soulondre. It is surrounded by green hills and vineyards and lies only from the large man-made Lac du Salagou.ClimateLodève enjoys a mostly mediterranean climate, with the hot summers that allow plentiful viticulture. Violent storms and torrential rain are frequently seen in late summer, leading to flooding and the muds and swamps that gave the city its name.HistoryLodève started as the capital of a Volque tribe before becoming the Roman city Luteva . The town was a stopping point on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela via the Arles road. An episcopal city until the French Revolution, it was also a centre for textile production under Louis XV and was home to one of only two royal manufactories for tapestry, the other being the one of the Gobelins in Paris.