Mascaras

One of the highest points in the former county of Pardiac, the municipality of Mascaras offers an exceptionally rugged panorama.
Along with the county of Pardiac, the community was once an integral part of the county of Astarac (which included the Pays de Rivière-Basse). Its name, with its curious toponymy that could be of Visigothic origin, is mentioned very early in the texts (11th century) and bears witness to the antiquity of the site, located in an area where the ancient roads of the Ténarèze (Caesar's Road) and the Chemin Romieu crossed.

Remains of an enclosure wall seem to point to the site of the former fortified village.

Mascaras has always been in the possession of powerful neighbouring lords, including the Count of Pardiac, Arnaud-Guilhem de Monlezun, in the 14th century.

The church of Saint Pierre was rebuilt in the 19th century: a modest rural religious building, it was rebuilt in the local architectural tradition with a bell tower wall. There is an interesting antique stone baptismal font.