ChapelFrance · FR
Prieuré de Chateauneuf
High on a wooded ridge west of the Provençal village of Mane, the Prieuré de Châteauneuf—also known as Notre-Dame-de-Châteauneuf or Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption—is a small, beautifully kept Romanesque chapel wrapped around a living hermitage. Reached by a climbing lane that leaves the road toward Apt just past a bridge over the Laye river, it sits at around 584 metres above the rolling country between Forcalquier and the Luberon, a place where faith, feudal conflict and the legend of the Knights Templar all left their mark. What makes this a worthwhile stop is its atmosphere rather than grandeur: austerely painted stone walls, a sculpted apse arch, a garden tended by a resident hermit, and a quiet hilltop view over the Forcalquier hills. It is the humbler, more intimate companion to the famous nearby Prieuré de Salagon—don't confuse the two—and it rewards anyone visiting Mane's cluster of medieval religious sites.