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Origin and history

The chapel Saint-Didier, 800 metres from the village of Comps-sur-Artuby, is an example of Provencal Romanesque art. Built by the order of St John of Jerusalem, it bears witness to the influence of the Hospitallers in the region after the dissolution of the Templars in 1312. Its modest architecture and isolated location reflect medieval religious practices in rural areas.

The territory of Comps-sur-Artuby, marked by a turbulent history, was a strategic place in the Middle Ages. Destroyed during the wars of succession of Provence (1382-1387), the village was rebuilt in an amphitheater around its rock. The Hospitallers, who became sole lords of Comps in the 16th century, left several religious buildings, including this chapel inscribed in the Historical Monuments since 1926.

The region, integrated with the Verdon Natural Park, preserves traces of an ancient occupation, from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age. The chapel Saint-Didier is part of a larger historical landscape, where the temple ruins, medieval hamlets (such as Saint-Bayon or Chardan, today in the Canjuers military camp) and a preserved rural heritage coexist. Its existence also illustrates the role of the commandaries in the territorial and spiritual organization of medieval Provence.

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