Romans () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the Ain department in eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Geography

The village is located between Bresse and the Dombes. The river Renon flows through the

from southeast to northwest. The other rivers in the area are the Irance in the east of the commune and the

Chalaronne The Chalaronne () is a long river in the Ain department in eastern France. Its source is at Lapeyrouse, in the Dombes. It flows generally northwest. It is a left tributary of the Saône, into which it flows between Saint-Didier-sur-Chalaronne ...

forming part of the commune's southwestern border.

Population

History

Early history

The land of Romans became in 917 the property of Cluny Abbey, when it was given by Ingelberge, wife of William I, Duke of Aquitaine who founded Cluny Abbey and the daughter of King Boso of Provence.Topographie historique du département de l'Ain
Marie-Claude Guigue, 1873, pages 324-325 Romans was attached the

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

ship of Varax until it was definitively separated when Étienne de Varax son of Henri Varax the third, married Claudine de Saint Amour in 1396, and created the lordship of Romans.

Recent history

On 4 March 1718 Claude de Lyobard de Brion, Lord of Romans, sold the land of Romans to Claude César Ferrary, squire and King's Counsellor. Romans was transformed in an

earldom Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant " chieftain", particula ...

named Romans-Ferrari in December 1763 thanks to Etienne-Lambert 1714 1766 (son of Claude César)ref name=GUIGUE/> The last earl of Romans-Ferrari was Charles de Romans-Ferrari his descendant born in Romans the 16th of December 1861 deceased the 27th of June 1912 in

Commercy Commercy () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The 18th-century Lorraine historian Nicolas Luton Durival (1713–1795) was born in Commercy. History Commercy dates back to the 9th century, and at that tim ...

Sights

* Saint-Maurice Church : Romanesque 12th-century church. The

belltower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...