Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Harmas Jean-Henri Fabre is an estate acquired in 1879 by the entomologist thanks to the income of his books, on an uncultivated land of Sérignan-du-Comtat (Vaucluse). He made it the first "living laboratory" to study insects, setting up a building with a work office, a greenhouse and outdoor spaces dedicated to Mediterranean biodiversity. Fabre lived there 36 years, until his death in 1915, observing plants and hymenoptera in a preserved setting, without electricity or modernity.

In 1913, President Raymond Poincaré paid tribute to Fabre on the spot, while Louis Pasteur consulted him to save the silkworm. After his death, the state purchased the Harmas in 1922 via a law passed by MP D. Legros, integrating the domain with the National Museum of Natural History. In 1955, 600 Fabre Botanical Watercolours, including unknown species, were rediscovered in the attic.

Ranked Historic Monument in 1998 and labeled "House of the Illustrators" in 2011, the Harmas was restored and reopened in 2006. The site preserves intact its furniture (inverted table, herbarium windows), its cold greenhouse of 1880, and a garden of 500 plant species, including trees planted by Fabre. The wasteland plots, now called "biodiversity regeneration", perpetuate its natural observation method.

The work firm exhibits 1,300 objects, including globes, publications and naturalist collections. The dining room, restored in its 19th style, and the outdoor trails (basin, vegetable garden, fountain) reflect the daily life of the scientist. The Harmas remains a unique testimony of field entomology, combining science, art and Provencal heritage.

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