SAINT REMY DE PROVENCE - Cycling from the Alpilles to Val d'Enfer

16 points of interest

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  Patrimony and history

  The Notre-Dame de Pitié Chapel

  This 14th century chapel was enlarged in 1651 on the vow of the consuls to erect an altar to Saint-Rémy, saint patron of the city, and to Saint-Roch, healer of the plague which ravages Provence then. It is listed on the list of Historic Monuments and today welcomes eleven paintings by Mario Prassinos painter of abstract art. He owned a house in Eygalières and was inspired by the Alpilles for different works.

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  Water and rivers

  Northern Alpines Canal

  From Orgon, the network of the northern Alpines Canal stretches for 119 km and ends in the Roubines of Anguillon and Vigueirat. Begun in 1826, its construction was slowed by conflicts of interest and ended in 1875. At the time, it was intended to complete the Canal des Alpines meridionales finished in 1772, to supply water to 18 towns and 40 additional mills.

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  Panorama

  View of the south-west of the Alpilles

  It is with a superb view on the reliefs of the southwestern part of the Alpilles, that one can distinguish Mont Paon and Mont Valence, both 234 meters high. They are bordered by the Vallon de Cabrieres, and farther west, by the Vallon de la Lèque. They were very early places of privilege for the implantation of human, as evidenced by the various vestiges present on Mount Paon.

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  Geology

  Val d'Enfer

  The Val d'Enfer is a valley famous for its rocks with strange shapes, sculpted by erosion. There are also impressive openings in the rock along the road and traces left by limestone quarries. at nightfall, many thought they recognized the rocks and caves of "The Hell" from Dante. Another great writer, who became a filmmaker, Jean Cocteau, shot in 1959, his "Testament of Orpheus” in the natural setting of the Val d'Enfer.

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  Panorama

  View of the Baux-de-Provence

  An exceptional view of the Baux-de-Provence, labelled "Most Beautiful Villages of France" and located at the top of a rocky outcrop. The Baux-de-Provence are characterized above all by their castle, witness of the power of the family of Les Baux and built in a semi-troglodyte way. This practice involves developing habitats that are partly underground or excavated in the rock, on the side of a massif.

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  Patrimony and history

  Carrières de Lumières

  First known as the Grands Fonts quarry, this stone quarry site ceased operations in 1935. In 1959, the place is reinvested by Jean Cocteau who turns there "The Testament of Orpheus". Then, from 1977, the old quarry was rehabilitated as a cultural center, offering innovative sounds and lights on the rock walls.. This exceptional site, now called "Carrières de Lumières", offers an immersion in the heart of the works of renowned painters.

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  Water and rivers

  Bridge-canal of the Baux valley

  In the Alpilles massif, numerous hydraulic structures have been built to supply all municipalities with water. The canal of the Baux valley, put in operation since July 3, 1914, passes along the southern foothills of the massif. The specificity of this environment associated with that of a canal, which must include a gentle slope allowing the good flow of water, led to the development of several canal bridges in the municipalities of Maussane-les-Alpilles and the Paradou.

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  Patrimony and history

  The village of Paradou

  Formerly kniwn as Saint-Martin-de-Castillon, the current name "Paradou" comes, not from "Paradise" although it may seem like one to inhabitants or visitors, but the name of the old water mills of the Arcoule river which enabled weavers to "decorate" the sheets.

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  Patrimony and history

  Roman aqueduct of Barbegal

  In the 1st century AD, the Romans built two parallel aqueduct bridges, which converged in a basin from which a single conduit leading to Arles. The Barbegal aqueduct was diverted in the 2nd century. AD to feed the Barbegal mill, while the western branch continued to supply the city of Arles. The modified bridge trenched the link of the Pene to feed the mill. The waters were then collected by a channel that evacuated them into marshes.

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  Patrimony and history

  The Roman aqueduct of Barbegal and the remains of the Roman flour mill

  The Roman colony of Arles is endowed itself, around the 1st century AD, with a water supply system using two aqueducts built at the foot of the Alpilles, where you can still find remains today. To the south of the massif, a first aqueduct of about 10km brought water from several springs, collected over Maussane and Paradou. A second aqueduct showing its first remains between Eygalières and Mollégès, went from Fontvieille, where its water mixed with that of the southern aqueduct. The Barbegal flour mill, dated of the 2nd century AD, seems to have worked only a century to supply the population of Arles with wheat.
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  Patrimony and history

  The mill of Alphonse Daudet

  Between the 18th and early 20th century, Fontvieille lived to the rhythm of the windmills. Built on a rocky promontory, four mills cap the surrounding hills of Fontvieille. Moulin de Daudet, the most recent of the four built mills stopped working in 1914. It was transformed in 1935, paying tribute to the famous writer Alphonse Daudet who portrayed through the tale "Lettres de mon moulin" (Letters from my mill), the consequences of technical changes at that time.
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  Patrimony and history

  Saint-Gabriel Chapel

  In the early Middle Ages, a first church was erected instead of an old pagan place of worship. Dedicated to the Archangel Gabriel, it is an important step on the road to Santiago de Compostela. The current chapel was built in the 12th century. and testifies to the splendor of the beginnings of Romanesque art in Provence, as shown by its architecture: its facade, its monumental portal, its carved friezes, or its oculus decorated with symbols of the four evangelists.

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  Water and rivers

  Rambaille Pond

  The Rambaille pond is one of the few lakes of the Alpilles. Artificial and in which one it is forbidden to swim, it draws its water in the Vigueirat canal and has an area of ??2.5 hectares. It makes the happiness of the fishing lovers from the surroundings. Most white-fleshed fish, as well as pike, trout and zander can be caught.

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  Savoir-faire

  Les Olivades

  Léonard Quinche joined forces in 1818 with two Tarasconnais and created an Indian factory in Saint-Etienne du Grès. In 1948, the company is taken over by Pierre Boudin. In 1977, he created "Les Olivades", a family business that perpetuates the ancestral art of printing on fabric from the south of France, while adapting it to the current life. The Les Olivades brand has been a forerunner in terms of high-end products manufactured and sold by the same company.

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  Patrimony and history

  Cross of Notre-Dame-du-Château Chapel

  This cross announces the path leading to the Romanesque chapel Notre-Dame-du-Château. This is mentioned for the first time in 1180 and was restored around 1419. Erected on the hill Saint-Michel-de-Briançon, it dominates the village of Saint-Etienne du Grès, former parish of the city of Tarascon. It was a priory chapel dependent on the Abbey Saint-Laurent of Avignon. Since 1350 she welcomed the "Belle Briançonne", a statue of the Virgin to the Child very famous from the Tarasconnais people.

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  Patrimony and history

  Saint Martin's Collegiate Church

  The Saint Martin's Collegiate Church is a catholic church located in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Rebuilt in part after a collapse in 1818, it has retained its 14th century Gothic bell tower, but has an imposing entrance with neoclassical columns supporting a triangular pediment. His organ was completely rebuilt by Pascal Quoirin in 1983. The building is also classified as a historical monument since 1984.