| Tour 3 : The paths of
History : Castles, Chapels, Shrines |
Leave Aix by the D17 in the direction
of Le Tholonet, Beaurecueil, St-Antonin, the Sainte-Victoire mountain,
the landscapes of Cézanne. At Puyloubier, take the D12 towards
Trets. Cross the RN 7.
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Puyloubier
 In the
Middle Ages the estate was partly owned by the Abbey of Saint Victor.
* Saint Pons parish church: Romanesque style,
completed in 1870.
* Chapel of Saint Pancrace: child martyr, patron saint of children. Procession
with blessing of the harvest.
* Saint Ser Hermitage: a site occupied by the hermit Ser, who was martyred
by the soldiers of Euric and had his ears cut off (485). The chapel was rebuilt
and blessed again in 2001 on the occasion of its millennium. Pilgrimage on
Pentecost Monday. Commemorated on a postal stamp in 2002.
* Chapel of Saint Roch: 14th century with a rare 7th-century Merovingian altar.
The town was awarded the national heritage prize ("Rubans du Patrimoine")
in 2003 for the complete restoration of these buildings.
* Church of Saint Mary: building begun in the 9th century. Currently under
restoration.
* Bramefan shrine: on the Cézanne road, restored in 2005.
* Malivert shrine: at the top of the mountain, restored in 2004.
* Saint Roch shrine: at the foot of the village.
Take the D12 in the direction
of Trets. Cross the N7.
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Trets
 Trets
was already inhabited in prehistoric times on Mont Olympe. The city was founded
by a Greek colony and invaded by the Saracens. Trets began its development
in the Middle Ages, and was ruled by a succession of lords. It was owned by
the Viscounts of Marseille from the 10th to the 16th Century, the last lord
being Thomassin
de Peynier. The village is mediaeval in character, with old houses, narrow
winding streets and vaulted arches.
Places to visit:
* The feudal castle with its ramparts and two square gate-towers.
*
The church of Notre Dame de Nazareth, a former priory in the Provençal
Romanesque style with Romanesque semi-circular barrel-vaulted apse and nave,
gothic chapels and massive unfinished bell-tower, bas-relief in marble by Christophe
Veyrier, a pupil of Puget.
* The chapel of St-Jean-du-Puy, an old hermitage isolated on a rocky peak
658 metres (over 2,000 feet) high, with a Romanesque apse, rebuilt in the classical
style and adorned with two Gallo-Roman pillars.
Follow the N7 towards Chateauneuf
le Rouge.
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Châteauneuf-le-Rouge
 In
grounds of nearly 8 acres, this 16th and 17th century château is a
compromise between the estate's farming industry and the pomp intrinsic to
every aristocratic household.
Three main entrances lead out to a paved inner
courtyard. The northern entrance leads under an archway into a passage where
a spring flows constantly into
a stone trough. Through the "state" courtyard, we arrive at the carriage
gateway which opens up onto the park adorned with a maze made from box trees
over a hundred years old, and rows of plane trees which are typical of any
noble Provençal residence. To the far north is an old pond with a fountain
and basin.
On the transom of the massive wrought iron gate, surprisingly, is the monogram
of Chateauneuf le Rouge. The residents' coat of arms is normally on the entrance
gate. Inside, on the 18th century staircase, is the coat of arms of the Gauthier
de Geranton family. The entrance to the park bears a castiron cross dating
from the second half of the 19th Century.
Take the N7 back towards Aix,
then the N96 towards La Barque, and then Fuveau via the A52.
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Fuveau
 * The
birth of Fuveau is symbolised by a text dating from 1086, but it is likely
that the chapel of Saint-Michel, mentioned in the text, was older. It was probably
in the centre of the village. It is a historic monument, rebuilt in the 16th
century, with a Romanesque doorway.
* The Bassac gate in the mediaeval ramparts was the way in to the fortified
village. The present construction dates from the 18th century. All that remains
of the
ramparts is a wall 1.50 metres (nearly 5 feet) thick.
* The chapel of Saint-Roch in the centre of the village was dedicated in
1729 in thanksgiving for protection from the Plague (1720).
* In 1601, the Church was the chapel of the lord's house which it adjoins.
It was rebuilt in 1853. The door, the paving stones, the organs, the dais
and the bell were gifts from C A Verminck, a statue of whom was erected
in the
square in 1902.
Follow the road to Aix via La
Barque, and then continue on the D6 towards Gardanne, Meyreuil.
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Meyreuil
 On
the RN7, level with the Clairefontaine service station, a path leads to the
magnificent chapel of St-Marc-de-l'Arc (11th century). It replaces the ruins
of a Roman temple dedicated to Mars. In 1444, the chapel was enlarged by Lord
André De Burle and became a place of pilgrimage on the Sunday following
25 April. In the village the church of Saint-Marc dates from 1689.
The village has several shrines including the
Sainte-Barbe shrine, situated at the mine’s pithead and the Saint Marc
shrine, in the Coteau Rouge area. The Saint-Labre shrine was
rebuilt in 1934 by Mr. David.
In the Chicalon area, the ruins of the Notre-Dame
shrine remain, as do those of the Saint-Benoît Labre shrine dating
from 1876.
See:
All tours - Tour 1 - Tour 2 - Tour 3 - Tour 4
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