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Origin and history

The church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul of Mouleyrès, founded in the 5th century in the Alyscamps of Arles, was dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul. A funeral inscription attributed to a certain Petrus (530) confirms its paleo-Christian origin. According to historian Fernand Benoit, his double title was inspired by the Roman basilica San Pietro in Vincoli, rebuilt by Pope Sixte III (432–440). From its foundation, the site attracts burials, becoming a major funerary pole outside the city walls.

In the Middle Ages, the church is surrounded by the Pilgrims' Hospital of Santiago and the Trinity Chapel (mentioned in 1113), forming an ensemble known as Fabregoule. In 1166 it was ceded to the chapter of Saint-Trophime, then attached to the parish of Saint-Michel-de-l'Escale in 1390 after its partial ruin. A hermit would have maintained it in the 14th century, in a context of geographical isolation.

In the 16th-17th centuries, the church was destroyed in 1536 by the Arlésians to prevent its use by Charles Quint's troops. Rebuilt at the hinge of the two centuries, it integrates the ancient Paleo-Christian basilica as a sacristy. The piercing of the Craponne Canal (XVI century) and, later, the Lyon-Marseille railway line (1840) permanently isolated the site, suspended above the railway tracks. The church, sold at the Revolution, is today a listed historical monument (1998), the last witness with Saint-Honorat and the chapel of the Genouillade of the Alyscamps.

The building has a 17th century façade and a trilobed apse inherited from its Paleo-Christian phase. 19th-century excavations revealed major remains, including two plques of PaleoChristian Cancel (VIth century) decorated with geometric motifs, now scattered between the museums of Arles, Avignon, Marseille and Geneva. These elements, rare in France, illustrate the artistic importance of the site.

Located 12 bis rue Mansard in Arles, the chapel is now a private property, inaccessible to the public. Its history reflects the urban and religious transformations of the city, from ancient Alyscamps to modern industrialisation.

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