Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The château de Gréolières, first mentioned in 1047 as Graulieras, originally belonged to the Viscounts of Nice. At that time, the site, then called villa, was close to the Castrum of Moyone and housed a church and a primitive fortress. Around 1070, the Viscounts abandoned the castle of Majone to settle on the promontory of Gréolières, where a fortress was explicitly attested in 1079. This first castle, probably located in Basses Gréolières, remains under their control until the twelfth century, in a context of rivalries between the local nobility and the Counts of Provence.

At the beginning of the 13th century, the Count of Provence, seeking to weaken the influence of the Viscounts of Nice and the Republic of Genoa, assiege and separare of the castle of Basses Gréolières around 1230. To strengthen his control over the region, he built the château de Hautes Gréolières around 1220, then ceded Basses Gréolières to Romée de Villeneuve in 1235. The monument therefore remained in the Villeneuve-Vence family until the Revolution, undergoing several changes, notably after the looting of 1385 during the conflicts between the supporters of Charles de Duras and Louis II of Anjou.

The 16th and 17th centuries were marked by destruction linked to the wars of Religion and regional conflicts. In 1574, the castle, then owned by the Baron of Vence Claude de Villeneuve, was attacked by Protestants before being taken over by troops from Vence. In 1590, the troops of the Duke of Savoy Charles-Emmanuel bombed him, causing the collapse of a facade. Despite restorations at the beginning of the seventeenth century, the castle was again damaged in 1747 during the Austrian Succession War, before being seized as National Good at the Revolution. In 1838, it was sold to a local resident, Jacques Flory, for 17,000 francs in gold coins.

The current remains, listed as historical monuments in 1976, reveal a partially preserved polygonal enclosure, with bellow walls and murderers dating mainly from the fourteenth century. A stone engraved 1712 Rep. attests to work on that date, while blocks of humpstone, re-used in the walls, testify to successive redevelopments. An archaeological excavation confirmed a profound reshuffle at the end of the 14th century, linked to the disturbances of the Hundred Years War and the conflicts surrounding the succession of Queen Jeanne. The site, although partially in ruins, retains an underground tank and defensive elements characteristic of medieval Provencal fortresses.

External links