Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Saint-Sixte Chapel is a desolate Romanesque chapel located in Aubignan, Vaucluse. Originally, it was said to have served as a parish church, then as a place of monastic life, as evidenced by a small side door leading to a cloister that is now extinct, but whose traces remain on the façade.

In 1775 it depended on the chapter Saint-Agricol of Avignon. Sold as a national good during the Revolution, it was bought in 1809 by the family of Seguins-Vassieux, who restored it to worship in 1863. Since 1936, it belongs to the Rey family, which has restored and transformed it into a wine tasting cellar. It was listed as a historical monument in 1984.

Its architecture, marked by an elevated transept and a typical vault of the first Provencal Romanesque art (XI–XII centuries), includes an enigmatic lapidary inscription at the entrance. The apsidial window, unobstructed during the restorations, reveals a fresco with Oriental themes (monsters, chimeras, horsemen), dated from the return of the first crusade (1096–1099) and linked to Cluny's influence. This fresco is protected by the additional inventory of historical monuments.

The chapel thus illustrates post-cruise cultural exchanges and the evolution of religious uses in Provence, moving from a place of worship to a preserved wine and historical heritage.

Future

Belonging since 1936 to the Rey family who carefully restored it, it became a wine tasting cellar.

External links