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Origin and history

The Chapel Sainte-Madeleine de Mirabeau is a rural priory established between 1165 and 1178 by the monks of the Abbey of Saint-André-de-Villeneuve. Located at the entrance of the Canteperdrix parade, a strategic crossing point of the Durance, it served as a place of worship for a brotherhood of boatmen. Its architecture consists of a nave of two vaulted bays in broken cradle and an apse in cul-de-four, typical of the Provençal Romanesque style.

An inscription engraved on a harpsichord of the door commemorates a solar eclipse that occurred in 1239, with a Latin and Provençal sentence: "The Year of the Lord 1239, the 3rd of June's nuns, the sun has darkened." This detail highlights the symbolic and religious importance of the site in the Middle Ages. The priory, already ruined before 1343, was converted into a remission after the French Revolution before being restored in 1948.

The chapel has been listed as a historic monument since November 10, 1928. Its western elevation has a gable surmounted by a bell tower-wall with two bays, while bolt holes (perhaps linked to a dovecote) adorn the upper part of the western and southern walls. Its isolation on a rock and its link with the boatmen of the Durance make it a unique testimony of medieval history and exchanges in Provence.

The Canteperdrix site, where the chapel stands, was a mandatory crossing point between Aix-en-Provence and Manosque. The monks of Saint-André-de-Villeneuve established this priory there to control this sensitive point, while at the same time associating a spiritual dimension with the cult of Saint Madeleine. The chapel thus illustrates the role of religious orders in the development of communication channels and medieval economic life.

After the Revolution, the chapel fell into disuse before being saved by a restoration in the 20th century. Today, it attracts visitors for its architecture, its history related to boatmen, and its exceptional panorama of the Durance and parade. Its ranking among historical monuments makes it a protected heritage, symbol of the rich medieval past of Mirabeau and its region.

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