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Origin and history

The pigeon-maker of Roux de Corse was built in the 18th century by the Marseille shipowner Georges Roux, dit le Corse (1703–92), on his fief of Brue-Auriac, acquired in 1746. This colossal monument, 22.50 m high and 12 m wide, embodied its will to assert its seigneurial authority in this Provençal land in the midst of the Austrian Succession War. The dovecote, with 8,100 bolts (insulating brick nests), was also a lucrative economic tool: meat, eggs, and colombina (a reliance on nitrogen fertilizers) provided substantial income.

Integrated with an ambitious new town project (1746–158), the dovecote accompanied a castle, a chapel, and artisanal workshops (tailery, faience, weaving). The financial setbacks of Roux in 1774, then the French Revolution, ended this seigneurial utopia. Falling in ruins, the monument was bought by the commune in 1956. He entered the Guinness Book in 1996 as Europe's largest dovecote, before being enrolled in the Historical Monuments in 2004.

The cylindrical structure, in coated masonry, presents technical innovations: a double belt of varnished tiles (now extinct) protected the eggs of rats, while a central swivel ladder allowed access to the 8,100 cells. Ranked in 2021 by the Stéphane Bern Mission for the Heritage Lotto, the pigeonmaker benefited from rehabilitation works completed in March 2025. Its historical role reflects both the fascist of the Provencal lords and the economic importance of the dovecotes in the agriculture of the Ancien Régime.

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