Monuments to visit Alpes-De-Haute-Provence

Standing in the middle of the field, these four superb columns in grey monolithic granite, ending in white marble Corinthian capitals and surmounted by a sculpted architrave, are the remains of a temple probably erected to the glory of Apollo, probably at the very end of the 1st century BC. A majestic testimony to the city founded by the Emperor Augustus, which was called civitas Julia Augusta Reiorum Apollinaris. A signpost recalls their origins and shows what the ancient temple was, where the columns at its entrance were located.

The baptistery is a building annexed to a church and intended above all for baptisms. Part of a large episcopal group erected on the remains of ancient Roman baths, the baptistery was built in the^5th century AD. Once surrounded by a portico, it has been reworked and restored over the years. It remains one of the few moving testimonies of this period, since the seat of the bishopric was dismantled during the French Revolution. Further east, some remains of the early Christian cathedral remain.

With its imposing silhouette and its two towers, it is difficult to miss! Obviously built after the medieval period, in rolled pebbles from the Durance, it was largely reworked by the De Fulque family, originally from Valensole and owner of the Marquisate of Oraison from 1720 onwards. This family kept it more or less until the Revolution and the building was devastated in 1792. It was then raised by one floor and transformed into a silkworm farm. Louis Pasteur was ordered by the State to come here in 1868 to study the silkworm disease called pebrine.

The Tournoux fortress is an important work composed of 6 forts ranging from 1,290 m altitude for the Esplanade Pellegrin to 2,000 m for the Serre-de-l'Aut. The Caures battery, which is open to visitors, is located at 1,800 m. Built between 1839 and 1866, these fortifications of the Maginot line are located on the border of the communes of Condamine-Châtelard and Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye. They defended the entrance to the upper Ubaye valley from the Arche pass. It should be noted that the forest track of about 2 km leading to it is not very passable