The city in Roman antiquity
The city is the very expression of Roman civilization. The foundation of a city follows very precise rules: first, the axes of the cardo maximus north/east-south/west and the decumanus maximus east/west are determined, and then the public square, the forum, is laid out. The triumphal or commemorative arches marking the entrance to the city, erected to emperors or victorious generals, consisted of a single arch or a large arch in the middle and a smaller one on either side (Orange). Decorated with bas-reliefs depicting battle scenes and prisoners, they ended with a large attic, sometimes supporting a quadriga.
The Gallo-Roman homes of wealthy patricians were decorated with sumptuous ornamental elements - painted plasterwork, mosaics, marble inlays and sculptures. We're lucky to have these remains under the open sky (Vaison-la-Romaine). Not to be outdone, theaters are the city's showpieces, and Orange's is the only one with its own stage wall.
Village, farmhouses and bastides: the rural heritage
The perched village
In the Vaucluse region, oppida, villages perched on a rocky outcrop, surrounded by an enclosure, were structured by streets linked by staircases and steep calades. Abandoned, the perched village was reborn in medieval times, with grouped houses featuring blind exterior walls and the addition of a small garden for the more affluent. In the 19th century, the inhabitants moved down to the plains. Today, these hilltop villages are open-air museums, but that doesn't stop nostalgic or well-off people from living there.
Traditional houses
- The Provençal rural dwelling is oriented north-south, surrounded by cypress hedges to protect its inhabitants from the mistral wind. The façade is rendered in warm-colored mortar. Its roof is covered with Roman tiles and highlighted by one or more rows of genoises, depending on its social standing!
- The mas (farmhouse) is a large, stocky, U-shaped building of exposed stone, grouped around a courtyard enclosed by a porch, housing the dwelling, the work tools and sometimes a chapel. On the first floor, a kitchen equipped with the patouille (a sink made from a single block of stone), heated by a large fireplace, and decorated with walnut furniture (bread rack, pantry and salt box). Upstairs are the bedrooms and an attic that could be used as a silkworm farm.
- The bastide dates from the 17th and 18th centuries, and is either residential or agricultural. Square in plan, it's an elegant ashlar dwelling with handsome facades and regular openings, adorned with wrought-iron balconies and a staircase with a banister leading to the stoop, typical of the countryside near large towns. In the mid-17th century, the garden became an integral part of the house, a sign of the owner's power!
- In the Luberon countryside, shepherds built bories - pointed sheds used as sheepfolds or barns - in dry stone without mortar. a total of 1,160 have been inventoried in the Regional Nature Park.
Religious architecture
The golden age of Romanesque art
Despite numerous borrowings from Roman and Oriental art, Romanesque art asserts its originality in the design of its plans and the variety of its facades. Another Romanesque innovation was the composition of the portals. For the first time, concentric arches are supported by as many columns as there are arches. Romanesque churches come in a wide variety of plans, from basilicas to Latin crosses. In all cases, the apse or chevet represents the top of the cross, the most sacred place in the church where Christ's head rested. Barring topographical problems, all churches are oriented towards Jerusalem.
Romanesque art in Provence
Romanesque art in Provence reached its peak in the 12th century. A distinctive feature of Provençal Romanesque is the doubling of the nave's double arches. There are also relieving arches between the pillars to support the weight of the vault.
Churches
Churches are of low height, with pointed barrel vaults and few side aisles, as their low elevation does not allow for the construction of galleries. However, it is not uncommon to find openings above the nave arcades, sometimes with blind arcatures separated by pilasters.
Cistercian abbeys
the "three Provencal sisters" of Silvacane, Thoronet and Sénanque. In the latter, the austere rigor seems tempered in two main places: at the church's transept crossing (on top of the octagonal dome where the bell tower's cube and pyramid rest) and in the cloister, where the forty-eight small arches fall back on the capitals. The serenity, sobriety and purity of the setting are conveyed by large, low arches resting on three large piers on the outside of the galleries.
Romanesque art has reached maturity, and is gradually being replaced by Gothic art
In Provence, Gothic buildings are few in number, and do not have the same aesthetic or structural characteristics as in northern regions, where Gothic art developed from the 11th century onwards. There was indeed a Gothic "phenomenon" in the Midi during the last centuries of the Middle Ages. In addition to the Palais des Papes and the churches of Saint-Didier and Saint-Pierre (Avignon), the Chartreuse de Villeneuve-lès-Avignon is a prime example.
Military architecture
The Middle Ages saw a flourishing of military constructions: ramparts, gates, defensive round towers, fortified castles (on the right bank of the Rhône at Villeneuve les Avignon stands Fort Saint-André, opposite the Palais des Papes)
Castles
The Vaucluse region is no stranger to castles. Most often, it's a medieval castle, often built on a high point, surrounded by thick walls, which controlled the Comtadine plain and the Durance valley against Saracen, Italian and other invasions, but which has often been remodeled with the creation of magnificent gardens. Some are inhabited (Le Barroux), others house museums (La Tour d'Aigues, Ansouis).
