Administrative centre of the département of Finistère in Brittany, northwest France, situated about 58 km/36 mi southeast of Brest on the River Odet; population (2005 est) 64,900. The city is an important centre for banking and finance. Other major employers include the agribusiness sector, chemical industry, distribution companies, and local government. The nearby port of Roscoff provides access to the UK. Quimper, originally Aquilonia, was settled by the Romans and was used to unload ships coming into port. In the early Middle Ages, it became the largest town in the Cornouaille region and was granted an Episcopalian see in the 9th century. Stone ramparts were built in the 12th century and the construction of the Saint-Corentin Cathedral began in the 13th century; work was completed in 1858. The town grew around the local Benedictine monastery. In the 14th and 15th centuries, it was ravaged several times by wars with the English and in 1594, bombardments by the French military…