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Origin and history

The Romanesque church of Saint John de Forcalquier is mostly dated to 12th and 13th centuries by historians. Some elements, such as the choir, could go back to the late 11th or early 13th century, while the nave and facade would date back to a century later. Its disoriented orientation, with a semicircular apse oriented to the north, suggests either the reuse of an ancient choir or an adaptation to the slope of the terrain, reinforced by similarities with other local churches such as the chapel Saint-Donat de Montfort.

Originally, its parish status was debated: some authors, such as Léon de Berluc-Perussis or Guy Barruol, considered it an urban parish integrated into the town of Forcalquier from the 11th century, while Jean-Yves Royer proposed a rural origin. In 1100, Bishop Géraud Chabrier integrated into the temporal of the Forcalquier Concathedral. The 14th century crisis (black pest, Hundred Years' War) led to the abolition of his parish in 1415, merged with Notre-Dame-du-Bourguet, although Masses were still celebrated there until the 17th century.

The building suffers progressive degradation: part of its vault collapses from the 17th century, despite repairs by the blue penitents. Abandoned before the Revolution, it was briefly reassigned under the concordat regime to a brotherhood of penitents (grey and blue), before being permanently disused in 1937. In the 20th century, the collapse of the first two spans accelerated its ruin, despite the addition of a metal roof and stabilization walls. Today, it degrades without major restoration.

Architecturally, the 26-metre-long church features a five-span nave vaulted in a broken cradle, illuminated by double-brasing windows. The facade, sober but neat, dates from the end of the 12th or the beginning of the 13th century, with a portal surmounted by crenellated voussures and an oculus. Traces of three departures of orthogonal walls on the north flank may indicate old crawling arcs, while the abside, with heterogeneous appliances, feeds the assumptions of a two-phase construction.

The hypothesis of an ancient Baptistery, advanced in the 19th century by Berluc-Perussis, remains controversial for lack of archaeological evidence or a complete term (such as "Saint John the Baptist"). Recent studies, such as those of Mariacristina Varano, favour an urban parish origin, linked to the medieval expansion of Forcalquier on the southern slope of its hill. Early decommissioning and present ruins reflect the difficulties of preserving a marginalised Romanesque heritage.

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