Origin and history
The Château de La Verdière was born in the 10th century, when the Castellane family, one of the oldest in Provence, erected a strategic fortress overlooking the road between Arles and Castellane. The initial building, oriented north-west/south-east, consists of two bunk rooms: a low room dug into the rock and a large room that can accommodate 200 to 300 men. The military fortress then controls a major axis of the region. A castral chapel, later replaced by the present parish church, is backed by the western wing of the castle.
In the 13th century, under the house of Vintimille (1262–137), the castle underwent its first major works, gradually losing its defensive character. A dungeon is added, and a Romanesque church replaces the primitive chapel. In the 15th century, the Castellane family recovered the estate by succession and continued the development. Between 1437 and 1613, the dungeon was demolished, but the building spreads northward with new buildings, vaulted rooms below ( stables), and a garden called "the ride". The church, with a bell tower, becomes independent of the castle and still serves as a place of worship in the village.
In the 17th century, the castle passed to the Forbins through the wedding of Aymare de Castellane with Vincent-Anne de Forbin-Maynier. Although the family does not reside there, it adds a corner tower, a double ramp staircase to access the terraces, and a private stand in the church, allowing the lord to attend the offices sheltered from the eyes. The major transformation, however, took place between 1750 and 1767, when Louis-Roch de Forbin, an officer of the king, undertook immense work to make it a residence of pleasure. The castle was enriched with a 40-metre terrace, 22 lounges, a 30-metre ballroom, a library, and gypsum shops covering thousands of square metres – the largest in France. These decors, typically provençal, adorn walls and ceilings, making the castle an architectural gem.
Ranked as a historic monument in 1986, the castle is little more than destroyed. During the French Revolution, it was looted by villagers and then threatened with demolition (the department promised 30,000 francs for its destruction). Its height situation, risking damage to the houses below, saves it in extremis. In the 19th century, it briefly welcomed 800 revolutionary soldiers in 1851, during an insurrection in Aups. After a period of abandonment in the 20th century, it was bought in 2003 by a private owner who restored it. Today, he is still inhabited, visiting himself with a speaker and preserving his 365 doors and windows, as well as his 5,000 m2 of buildings.
The castle of La Verdière embodies almost a thousand years of Provencal history, marked by three large families (Castellane, Vintimille, Forbin) and a unique architectural evolution, from the medieval castle to the Baroque palace. Its gypsies, its fabulous salons and its exceptional panorama (covering the Ventoux, the Luberon, and the Moors) make it a rare testimony of the art of living aristocratic in Provence in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
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