La Verdière

History

In 980, the family of the Counts of Castellane, one of the most ancient and illustrious families of Provence, built a fortress: La Verdière. Having belonged to the Counts of Ventimiglia from 1262 to 1437, the building returned to the house of Castellane and in 1613, to the family of the Counts of Forbin. These three great families gave the castle of La Verdière special architecture born out of these different periods of development. In the tenth century, the original building, oriented northwest–southeast, was composed of two superimposed rooms: the lower hall, built onto the slope of the rock, and a second room that could hold two to three hundred people. Strategically, La Verdière commanded the road leading from Arles to Castellane. A chapel was also built at the foot of the castle. In the thirteenth century, under the aegis of the House of Ventimiglia, an ancient Sicilian family made La Verdière their first great work, causing it gradually to lost its military character. Retaining its original form, the castle expanded considerably and a dungeon was added to the building. A church, in Romanesque style, replaced the original small chapel. In the fifteenth century, the castle came by succession to the family of Castellane. From 1437 to 1613, the castle experienced a new period of work. The main tower was demolished but the building was expanding northward. A new building was built on the side of the courtyard and vaulted rooms below the terrace housing the stables. A garden called "carousel" was constructed. Finally, the church gained a bell tower and housed a presbytery. No longer part of the castle today but, the village church's architecture has hardly changed over seven centuries. In the seventeenth century with the marriage of Aymar de Castellane with Anne…