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Origin and history

The church of Notre-Dame de Venasque is a Romanesque building built in the 13th century, erected on a steep rock. It is connected to the neighboring Baptistery by a covered corridor, forming a coherent architectural ensemble. Although redesigned in the 17th and 18th centuries, its structure retains the characteristic features of Provencal Romanesque art. Its location suggests a reconstruction on the foundations of an earlier church dedicated to Sainte-Marie, attesting to a cultural continuity on this site.

Local tradition attributes its reconstruction to Saint Siffrein, bishop of Carpentras, thanks to a financial donation from the Abbé de Montmajour to the diocese. This ecclesiastical patronage illustrates the links between the religious institutions of the region at that time. The building was classified as a historic monument on May 30, 1906, recognizing its exceptional heritage value.

Its architecture, both defensive by its elevated position and symbolic by its attachment to the Baptistery, reflects the strategic importance of places of worship in the medieval Comtat Venaissin. The choice of a rock as a base also reinforces its sacred character, typical of provencal Marian shrines.

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