Marciac (/ˈmɑːrsiæk/, French: [maʁsjak], Occitan: [maɾˈsjak]) is a commune in the Gers department, Occitania, southwestern France. It is known for its annual international festival Jazz in Marciac, which runs for a fortnight every summer.

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (July 2014) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the French article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at [[:fr:Marciac]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated|fr|Marciac}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Quick Facts Country, Region ...

Marciac
Commune
The central square, with the bell tower of the church in the background
Coat of arms
Location of Marciac
Marciac Show map of France Marciac Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 43°31′30″N 0°09′45″E
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Gers
Arrondissement	Mirande
Canton	Pardiac-Rivière-Basse
Intercommunality	Bastides et Vallons du Gers
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Jean-Louis Guilhaumon[1]
Area 1	20.6 km2 (8.0 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	1,206
• Density	59/km2 (150/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	32233 /32230
Elevation	142–247 m (466–810 ft) (avg. 154 m or 505 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

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The name of this Bastide was received by the King of France's representative, seneschal Guichard de Marciac. The abbot of the monastery of La Case Dieu and the count of Pardiac had invited Guichard de Marciac with the hope he would ensure a safe place for Marciac's citizens and guarantee the prosperity of the city for years to come.^[3]

In 2008, during the financial crisis of 2007–2008, a team from Marciac won the 'best baguette' category in the French-hosted (but United States-sponsored) baking world cup, the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie.^[4]

A great emphasis is placed on jazz in the town, which is taught as a regular subject in local schools. The town itself is known for its annual Jazz in Marciac festival, held for a fortnight in August. A marquee ("le chapiteau") capable of seating 6,000 is erected on the rugby field, with concerts hosted there every night for the duration of the festival, and free music from 11:00 till 20:00 every day. Stalls selling a variety of related and non-related merchandise are erected in and around the centre of the village square, where free concerts are given during the day. Other musical events take place around the town at the same time, such as the "Atelier de Jazz".

• Agriculture: sunflower, maize

• Jean Laforgue, born in Marciac in 1782, is mainly known for having edited and censored the first edition (known as Edition Laforgue) of Giacomo Casanova's memoirs, Histoire de ma vie.

The town is characteristic of the bastides in the area – central village square with the town hall a main feature, with the village shops clustered along the four sides of the square. Wide arched pavements allow dining out of doors in the summer, when music is piped around the square. The town convent (now the town hall and cinema) and church steeples are lit up at night. The town is also home to many restaurants, including "Le Monde A L'Envers" (The World Upside Down), run by London chef Victoria Heath. A reference book ("The fabulous destiny of Marciac: From the dream of the founders to the passion for jazz") displays (in French) the story of the city, from its foundation in 1298 to the birth and the development of its famous jazz festival.

• Communes of the Gers department