Montsalier: Churches, Village History and Lanes

Montsalier combines narrow lanes with architectural traces from different centuries. Three perspectives are worth exploring: the churches, the former settlement of Vieux Montsalier and the Bastide du Baou. This lets you consider local history, religious architecture and the present-day streetscape as distinct themes of a stay, rather than assigning all the buildings to a single era.

Churches from Different Periods

The oldest parts of the Church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens, also known as Saint-Sauveur, stand on Haut-Montsalier. They date from the 11th or early 12th century. An arrow slit in the apse illuminates the church. An apse forms the end of the church interior; the narrow opening links the way light enters with a specific architectural feature.

Notre-Dame au Plan makes a different architectural statement: the church was built in 1856–1857, replacing an older chapel. Today, it is Montsalier’s parish church. Its central bay lies beneath a dome. The building also includes a bell tower erected above the choir. A bay is a section of the church interior. In contrast to the arrow slit in the apse of Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens, the dome and bell tower take center stage here. This makes it possible to distinguish two different architectural forms and periods in the village.

Vieux Montsalier and the Bastide du Baou

Vieux Montsalier takes you further back in time. The former village was Montsalier’s first settlement and was built on a rocky outcrop for better defense. Today, Vieux Montsalier is a ruin. It can be reached via an uphill hiking trail. Trail conditions may vary; check them before setting out. The site thus connects the history of the former settlement with an approach that differs from a walk through the lanes.

The Bastide du Baou also reflects the history of its site. It was built on the site of a Gallo-Roman complex, which was later followed by the now-vanished Church of Notre-Dame de la Ferronnade. Two round towers flank the bastide and were converted into dovecotes. A dovecote is a structure for keeping pigeons; here, the term describes the towers’ later use. The bastide therefore offers a view of both the sequence of historical associations with the site and a specific feature of the building.

Lanes, Fountains and Getting There

Montsalier can be explored on foot along a few narrow lanes. The houses have harmonious ochre-colored dry-stone facades. There is also a very large covered washhouse and a fountain. On a walk, you can take in the facades and these structures as features of the present-day village, while the churches and bastide bring older architectural forms and their history into focus.

The RD51 is a useful landmark for getting there: Montsalier can be reached via the departmental road connecting Banon and Simiane-la-Rotonde. If you are looking for a hotel, first decide what you want to focus on during your stay: religious architecture, the history of the former settlement or a stroll through the lanes. Then compare specific hotel offers using the details that matter to your choice.

Discover more destinations: Saint-Laurent-Du-Verdon, Saint-Michel-L'observatoire, Forcalquier, Beauvezer, Ongles, Authon, L'Escale, Dabisse-Les Mees

For the broader travel overview: Alpes-De-Haute-Provence.