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Chateau-Arnoux (04)
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Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban
Crossroads of the Durance
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| the
château of Château Arnoux |
This building was raised up by
Pierre de Glandevès, lord of the place, between 1510
and 1530. Built on rectangular lines, it is flanked
by five towers, two round ones on the west side, two
square ones and a hexagonal one to the east. Although
this château stands on the plain, its squat shape
is illustrative of the persistance of defensive medieval
architecture right through to the decades of the XVIth
century. Many gargoyles, which nowadays are badly
damaged, thrust themselves out from the roof which
is formed of flat tiles varnished in different colours.
The façades, with their several spans of windows,
brilliantly bear witness to a period of transition.
The art nouveau of the XVIth century bursts out in
the decoration of the spiral staircase in the hexagonal
tower. This beautiful stone spiral staircase is the
showpiece of the château. Its sixteen triangular pieces
each harbour a lovely series of sculptured busts representing
mythological or historical persons. This portrait
gallery is all the more precious as the civil statuary
dating back to the Renaissance is very rare in Haute
Provence.
The
château of Château Arnoux is one of the most beautiful
aristocrtic residences of the XVIth century.
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| LA
FERME DE FONT ROBERT |
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Taking the bridleway of the château
grounds, you reach the Ferme de Font Robert (the former
farm of the château), an attractive set of buildings
of the XVIth century that houses the cultural and
communication service as well as the Office du Tourisme.
It is in this exceptionally lovely setting, endowed
with an open-air theatre with 1,500 seats that the
"Festives de Font-Robert" take place each year, a
festival of music from all over the world performed
over 4 days by musicians of international fame. In
July and August, the Office de Tourisme suggests you
visit the park and the staircase of the château.
(Further information
from the Office de Tourisme on 04 92 64 02 64)
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| The
Chapel of Saint John the Baptist |
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Chapel of Saint John the Baptist, which stands on the
hillside overlooking the village, was built in 1667-68.
It consisted of three spans, had a ceiling put in and
two fairly crude barrel vaults, then was reinforced
in 1715 by three buttresses leaning against the southern
side. Since 1737, processions take place there three
times a year: on Whit Monday, the Sunday that follows
Saint John's Day (24 June) and the Sunday following
the death of the saint (at the end of August) |
| The
Church Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens |
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At Château-Arnoux (to the south of the cemetery),
the remnants of the priory and of the Church Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens
can still be seen. Those few elements that remain &endash;
an absidiole which is quite visible, a few sections
of wall and a studded Roman door &endash; have enabled
the building to be dated to the XIth and XIIth centuries.
The fact that within these walls many fragments of Roman
tiles have been found, as well as several traces of
iron coating, point to the fact that Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens
stands on the site that must have been occupied in Roman
times. |
| The
Church Notre-Dame de Consolation |
| Notre-Dame
de Consolation, now called Saint-Pierre, in the heart
of the village of Château-Arnoux, was built between
1634 &endash; the date inscribed on the door &endash;
and 1668. It has within it the funeral chapel of the
lords of the place.. |
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