B

B

Main page Haute Provence

Introduction and Manosque

Riez and Moustiers-Sainte-Marie

Gorges du Verdon

From Castellane to Saint-André-les-Alpes

Train de Pignes (1)

Train de Pignes (2) -Journey

Annot, authentic village

Haute Provence-Montagne de la Lure-A forgotten paradise and model of authenticity

Entrevaux-Colmars

Col d'Allos-Barcelonnette

Lac de Serre-Ponçon-Sisteron

Montagne de la Lure

Forcalquier

Digne les Bains 

Les Penitents

Head south on the N 95. After Chateau-Arnoux head on the N 96 and turn left as soon you LES MEES. You can see from far the ROCKS of LES MEES standing eerily over miles of flat maize field. The village of Les Mees doesn’t tempt much but the staggering “Penitents”, name given to the curious rows of limestone pinnacles outside it, do. What seems a dwarfed, stunted forest has these smooth dolmen-shaped formations, rising sheer and bar. Legend says that the Saracens invaded the area, when a group of monks from the MONTAGNE DE LA LURE are said to have been attracted by the beauty of the Moorish girls. It turned into cowled, disfigures stone statues, by St. Donatus, as a punishment for their impropriety. On the opposite bank of of the Durance, are these famous montagne de la Lure. To make a comparison with the Luberon, let’s say it is less snobbish with an open, frankly luminous landscape. Here, the sky is bluer than elsewhere.

Church Saint-Donat

The evocative ruins of the CHURCH OF SAINT DONAT reached by the narrow D 101, is isolated in the thick woods. Itvs today in a sorry state, its floor covered with rubble and graffiti etched on its venerable stoen. It’s one of Provence’s few remaining examples of early medieval Romanesque architectutre.
More impressive is the nearby PRIORY DE GANGOBIE. Founded in the 10 Th century by the order of Cluny, it dates from the 12th century. It was alos in sad lapidation until restoration works gave it back a bit of its ancient lustre in 1960. The assets of this place are the magnificent view on the Durance valley its magnificent zig-zag west portal and the stunning 12th century mosaics occupying the whole choir. In a nice ensemble of white, black pink and red, its presents a bestiary packed with fabulous monsters, fighting the evil forces.
The heights of the Montage de la Lure are reached via the little town of SAINT-ETIENNE DES ORGUES lying at its feet on the meeting of the D 951, the D 13 and the D 950. It is so good feeling and relaxed to stroll along its narrow streets of the old centre and observing the 15th and 16th century facades. The prosperity of this little village was traditionally based on medicinal remedies concocted from mountain herbs and sold by travelling peddlers.
You van climb to the Abbaye de le Lure, along a sinuous road lined with fir trees, taken over in the summer by purple lavender fields The abbaye de la Lure, founded by the reclusive St. Donat.
A very aggravating fact is that one of the few churches of ornamentation, a statue from the Virgin, was stolen in 1985.
Leaving Saint-Etienne des Orgues, the road climbs to the SIGNAL DE LA LURE which boast on of the one of the most impressive panoramas to be found anywhere in Provence. Views of the Cevennes and Mont Ventoux are interrupted only by the sight of soaring black buzzards. Jean Giono who was born I Manosque wrote in his book “Regains” about the inevitable destruction in the region, the inexorable end of the traditional patterns of rural life.
Up to Forcalquier, our next stop. In next essay.

Bibliography

A guide to Provence, by Michael Jacobs (Viking, London 1988), "Guide de la Provence mysterieuse" and "Provence Antique"by Jean-Paul Clebert (Ed.Sand, 1986 “Aspects of Provence, by Pope-Henessy James (Penguin Travel 1988), Guides du Routard, (1999) –« Towns in Provence », by M.F.KFischer (New-York-Vintage books 1983), « Regain » by Jean Giono, « Hannibal’s footsteps » by Bernard Levin (Sceptre paperback 1987), « Les Alpes de Lumière »(Edisud, Aix en Provence)