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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Madeleine Chapel, located in Bédoin in the Vaucluse, is one of the oldest examples of Provencal Romanesque architecture. This building, originally a Benedictine priory of the 11th century (attested from the second quarter), was first dedicated to Saint Peter of Monestrol before being associated with Mary Magdala in the 16th century. Its origin dates back to a donation by Exmido, Lord of Bédoin, in the 10th century, who offered the villa and the churches of his fief, including this chapel, to the Abbey of Montmajour (founded in 949). This donation was confirmed by Popes Gregory V (998), Urban II (1097) and Pascal II (1102), marking its medieval religious importance.

In the Middle Ages, the priory, then named Saint Peter of Monestrol, was mentioned in 1447 during a synod of the bishopric of Carpentras, without a designated prior. In 1502, Pope Alexander VI joined the Cathedral of Saint-Siffrein in Carpentras, permanently placing him under the name of Mary Magdalene. The building, restored in 1860 and then in 1953, was reopened to worship in 1971 and classified as a historical monument in 1947.

From an architectural point of view, the chapel is distinguished by its Romanesque square plan, with a vaulted nave, a bedside with three semicircular apses (side apsidioles), and a 12th century square bell tower overlooking the bedside. The latter, adorned with gelatinous berries and covered with lauze, illustrates a rare arrangement in Provence. Built in irregular rubble, the chapel retains a side portal and pillars supporting the vault, typical of the first southern Romanesque art.

The chapel is now located in a private property, below the departmental road to Malaucene, 3 km from Bédoin. Open to visitors on Saturdays and Sundays, it bears witness to almost a millennium of religious and architectural history, from its Benedictine origins to its modern heritage protection.

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