Silvacane Abbey

Founded around 1145 on the site of an 11th-century hermitage, the abbey is one of the three great Cistercian abbeys of Provence, known as the "three sisters of Provence" along with Sénanque and Le Thoronet. From modest beginnings, major works gave rise to a church and conventual buildings, which grew steadily, contributing to the development of the local economy through the construction of infrastructure (roads, irrigation canals) and agriculture. Its prosperity and influence over the entire territory were further enhanced by the protection of the Counts of Provence, who took over from the des Baux family, arousing the jealousy and grievances of the ecclesiastics dependent on the Abbey of Montmajour, whose monks eventually sequestered and expelled their fellow monks from Silvacane at the end of the 13th century. Essentially Romanesque in expression, the purity of its lines and the balance of its volumes and proportions make it a place of serenity and light. Managed since 2008 by the commune of La Roque d'Anthéron, the abbey hosts contemporary art exhibitions that play with light, as well as numerous concerts that showcase the site's exceptional acoustics.