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Origin and history

The parish complex Saint-Martin-de-Castillon came into being in the 10th century with the construction of a first chapel, which became the parish church of Les Baux, including the villages of Maussane, Mouriès and Paradou. In 1633 Jacques Audran, mason of the Baux, undertook a partial reconstruction of the church, maintaining a Romanesque style with a cradle vault. The chapel, too small for its parish role, underwent in 1671 a first extension with the addition of the chapel Saint Joseph, designed by Pierre Audran, followed in 1703 by the construction of the chapel of the Virgin under the impulse of Sébastien Quenin.

In the 18th century, the work concentrated on the presbytery, in poor condition: an extension was carried out in 1742, including the extension of one floor and the displacement of the adjacent cemetery. The church bell tower was built in 1772. The French Revolution temporarily interrupted the plans, the church being relegated to branch status in 1790 before regaining its parish role. The problems of space persisted, leading in 1848 to the reconstruction of the choir's abside, a solution deemed insufficient.

In 1866, a project to enlarge the chapel of the Virgin, designed by Bompuy, was retained to double its surface, but it proved non-permanent. The definitive solution came in 1894 with Arlesian architect Véran, who built a neo-Roman nave in place of the old chapel, slender and equipped with a bedside with cut strips. In 1896, Veran harmonized the facades of the naves of the 17th and 19th centuries. The paintings of the choir and chapels, made between 1894 and 1904 by Georges Ratyé and the parish priest Laurent Beissière, as well as stained glass commissioned at Louis André's Aixois workshop, complete the beautification of the building. The presbytery, rebuilt in the 1880s, maintains an original functional organization, with living rooms on the ground floor and upstairs bedrooms.

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