Place Bellecour stands on land that belonged to the 12th-century archbishop of Lyon, who took advantage of the fertile soil left by the floods of the rivers Rhône and Saône to plant a vineyard called “Bella Curtis” (which explains the square’s name). During the French Wars of Religion, the Huguenot army of François de Beaumont, baron des Adrets, camped here while destroying the city, much like the Romans did back when Lyon was still Lugdunum. However, the land remained the property of the heirs of the archbishop, who took the king to court when the latter tried to force them to give property to the Lyon City Council to turn what was (by then) a pasture into a public square. The trial lasted for a long time, but eventually, in 1708, Louis XIV obtained ownership of the land.