The villages of the Alpilles in the Camargue
In the Alpilles, there are two very distinct types of traditional habitat. There are of course the famous perched villages, which have made the reputation of Provence, but there is also a habitat of plain, resolutely different.
The perched villages are villages of crib which have, of course, nothing to do with the nativity. They are real impregnable fortresses built in troubled times to protect their inhabitants from barbarian invasions. Some of them are nowadays only ruins, but we can still guess the strength and power of the past, while others have experienced a real renaissance and have become tourist spots. The old perched villages are generally closed in on themselves, both because of the smallness of the rocky plateaus on which they are built and to protect themselves from the Mistral wind. Here, one must deal with this wind which can be extremely tempestuous and icy. The openings are small, even cramped, the facades facing north are practically blind.
One of the most beautiful examples of this type of habitat is, without question, the village of Les Baux-de-Provence. The architecture of Les Baux is resolutely medieval with large defensive works, of which the castle is a wonderful example. In the village, the buildings are largely inspired by the Roman model.
And then there are the villages of the plain, built once the danger had passed. Their architecture has nothing defensive anymore, except against the elements. The volumes change, the openings are enlarged, but remain oriented to the south. The alleys are always narrow, to protect themselves from the sun in summer and the wind in winter, in short, we find the whole atmosphere of the world of Mistral and Daudet, a little as if the country had frozen in the 19th century. Some elements are recurrent. There is the unavoidable village square where the inhabitants always gather during the big events and which also hosts the weekly market. There is also, almost systematically, a fountain where people used to draw water, before the arrival of running water. There is often a washhouse where women used to meet to beat the laundry and exchange news, it was a bit of a social network before its time. In short, the architecture of these villages is built around the public interest.
But in many of these villages, we also find distinctive signs of class with these large mansions that welcomed the noble families. High facades, as well as ceilings of more than three meters, beautiful openings ... it was necessary to mark its difference.
Outside the cities and villages, the famous Provencal mas represent strong symbols of local architecture. They are open, spacious, welcoming, often made up of a single block and almost always facing south. Originally, they were one-story farms where the family, workers and even animals lived. There are many outbuildings, barns and stables, to house crops, fodder and animals.
The Camargue, by its geographical specificities, presents an architectural face quite different from the Alpilles. Indeed, the alluvial soil and the absence of forests did not allow the natives to develop a habitat from the natural resources at their disposal. If the Romans had built dwellings and monuments that still exist today, they did so using imported materials. Traditional dwellings were limited to shelters and pastoral refuges with earthen walls and thatch roofs. Here again, the need to fight against the elements dictated the construction methods. Of course, nothing remains of these precarious dwellings. We do know, however, that they were low, with steeply sloping roofs and that they were oriented in the direction of the Mistral. The wall was rounded to offer less resistance to the wind. The 18th century saw the appearance of more durable dwellings, farmhouses that were gradually enlarged and surrounded by whitewashed walls, a bit like Mexican haciendas. Today, many manades are housed in such enclosures, to the delight of visitors, totally disoriented.
Religious architecture
There are many religious buildings in the Alpilles. Christianity has left many traces here: chapels, churches, oratories. Built during the Romanesque period, they are generally decorated in a sober, uncluttered style, so as to shine only through their stature and the power of their architecture. They are, in fact, buildings of great simplicity, yet particularly imposing. There's an entrance surmounted by a tympanum, and a classical organization of nave, transept and choir. The capitals and bas-reliefs can be adorned with frightening sculptures of monsters and demons. This curious bestiary in a place of worship stems from the fact that these churches were built during dark periods when epidemics and fears of the end of time haunted people's minds. Some of these churches are well worth a visit, such as Saint-Vincent in Les Baux-de-Provence or Saint-Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
The Camargue, for its part, was for a long time a sparsely populated region, and is therefore much less rich in religious buildings. Those that can be found today date from the 18th or 19th centuries. The exception is the church at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. Although the origins of its construction remain a matter of debate, it is thought to have been built in the 9th and 12th centuries. It can be seen some ten kilometers inland, and its architecture is as much defensive as it is religious, with its fifteen-meter nave and battlements on the roof. On several occasions, this church served as a refuge for the population during attacks by looters from the sea.
