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Origin and history

The site of Saint-Michel de Gignac, today in the commune of Rove, has been at least 1350. In medieval times it belonged to the seigneury of Marignane, extending to the sea. In the 13th century the Templars made it a strategic military commandory, controlling the plain and the axes between Marseille and Martigues. They built a strong castle in spur, with ramparts and square towers, to fight against the Saracen incursions and looters. The chapel, dedicated to Sainte-Marthe and Saint Michel, patron of the Templars, dates from this period, with a unique nave and a pentagonal apse.

In 1309, after the surrender by the Templars, the site passed to the Hospitallers of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. In 1388 Raymond de Turenne, of the Baux family, besieged Saint-Michel, burning houses and razing defenses, saving only the chapel. This conflict was part of the political tensions in 14th-century Provence, between local lords and religious, like Abbé Johan Bonnin de Saint-Victor, allied with the barons against Raymond de Turenne.

Today, the site preserves the 13th century chapel, restored in 1874, as well as the remains of the ramparts, towers and a cistern. Ranked a historic monument in 1977, it is part of the "Blue Coast Natural Site", protected by the Coastal Conservatory and included in the Natura 2000 network. The chapel, an example of Provencal Romanesque architecture with Gothic influences, houses a columned portal and carved capitals, while its interior reveals ogival vaults and adorned consoles, including a Saint Michael's representative.

The furniture of the chapel was dispersed in the nearby churches of Gignac-la-Nerthe, Le Rove and Ensuès-la-Redonne. The bell tower, added at the end of the 15th century, and the niches still visible on the north facade bear witness to its fortified church past. The site thus illustrates the heritage of medieval military orders in Provence, between territorial defence and religious life, in a coastal landscape today preserved.

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