PEZENAS  , a

town of southern France, in the department of Herault 33 M . W.S.W. of Montpellier on the southern railway . Pop . (1906), 6432 . The commerce in cognac, spirits and wines is so important that the prices current for these at the weekly sales are registered throughout .the wine marts of France and Europe . There is a handsome monument to 1\/Ioliere, who lived at Pezenas several years and produced his first plays there in 1655 and 1656 . A gateway (15th century) and old mansion of the 15th and 16th centuries are of interest . Pezenas (Piscennae) was founded by the Gauls . In the loth century it became the capital of a countship subsequently held by important families including those of Montmorency, Conde and . Conti . In the 17th century the town was on several occasions the meeting place of the estates of Languedoc .