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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Saint-Pierre mill, also known as the Ribet mill or the Alphonse Daudet mill, is a windmill built in 1814 in Fontvieille, Bouches-du-Rhône. Although Alphonse Daudet never inhabited him or possessed him, he went there from the Château de Montauban to write his Letters from my mill. This monument, classified in 1931, worked as a mill for more than a century, including during the First World War to supply the armies. In 1935, it was restored by the association Les Amis d'Alphonse Daudet to become a museum dedicated to the writer.

The mill features a typical architecture of the provençal mills: a 5.40 m diameter cylindrical base, a 4 m orientable conical roof, and 6 m wide wooden wings. Its internal mechanism, entirely made of wood, consists of two stone wheels (one fixed, one mobile) operated by a wheel and lantern system. The mill, closed and reopened in 2016 after restoration, now houses a permanent exhibition on Daudet.

The site inspired artistic works, such as a 1936 postage stamp or a painting by Henri Louis Foreau. It was also used as the setting for the Draculi & Gandolfi series. After years of abandonment, its roof, originally planned for renovation in 2009, was finally restored by its private owner after the municipal lease expired.

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