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Origin and history

The church Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de Villevieille, located in Châteauneuf-Villevieille (Alpes-Maritimes), finds its origins in an ancient site occupied since the Gallo-Roman period. After the invasions, the population took refuge around the castle erected on the ridge, where the fief was divided between up to forty-five coseigneurs. The first text mentioning Châteauneuf dates from 1030, when the bishop of Nice Pons III ceded the village and two hamlets to the Abbey of Saint-Pons. The architecture of the church, close to that of Levens, dates back to the third quarter of the 11th century, although its construction was often associated with the 12th century.

Between the 12th and 13th centuries, the church was the subject of repeated conflicts between the bishop of Nice, the canons of the cathedral, and the abbey of Saint-Pons. In 1109, the sons of Pierre Isnard gave it to the canons, but the bishop recovered it in 1129 and 1136, before returning it in 1148. The disputes continued until 1247, when Pope Innocent IV confirmed his possession by Saint-Pons, before a trial finally returned it to the canons. The church, owned from the chapter until the Revolution, fell in ruins in the seventeenth century and was repaired in the second half of the same century.

In the 18th century, the inhabitants returned to the plateau of Villevieille (1748), and the French army destroyed Châteauneuf in 1792. The bishop of Nice then restored the parish of Notre-Dame, transferring the baptismal fonts from the former church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens. Major works were undertaken in the 19th and 20th centuries: construction of a bell tower (1840), repair of the vaults after an earthquake (1887), and restoration of the roof (1926). Classified as a historical monument in 1928, the church keeps a piece of furniture that is included in the inventory of protected objects.

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