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Origin and history

The ancient Carmelite convent of Apt came into being around 1290, when the congregation settled near the city. In 1296, Raimond Bot, bishop of Apt, granted them the right to establish a church and cemetery outside the ramparts. No archive of this first implantation survived, making its initial history uncertain. After the destruction of this first site, the Carmelites settled intra-muros, Place Saint-Martin, where a chapel was assigned to them in 1362.

Thanks to a donation by Louis d'Anduze in 1413, the chapel was enlarged into a church with side chapels, becoming a central place for trade unions. The convent hosts the provincial chapter several times. In the 17th century, despite a gradual decline (four monks in 1680, only one at the Revolution), works embellish the church: radiant chapels, bell tower, rostrum and vaulting of the nave. The convent finally closed in 1791, sold as a national property.

In the 18th century, the cloister was rebuilt in a classical style, marking the last major architectural campaign. Today, there are only remains: the choir, some spans of the church and a gallery of the cloister. The ensemble has been listed as historical monuments since 2011. Archaeological excavations and studies (notably by N. Duverger and F. Guyonnet in 2004-2005) helped to clarify its evolution, from medieval origins to modern transformations.

The site, now a mixed property (private and communal), retains protected elements such as the entire church, arcades and cloister floor. Its current address, Place Ripert-de-Monclar and Rue Paul-Valéry, attests to its integration into the urban fabric of Apt. The sources available (Wikipedia, Monumentum, DRAC PACA) underline its heritage importance in the Vaucluse and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.

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