Ancienne église Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul de Mouleyrès
AbbeyHidden Treasure
Ancienne église Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul de Mouleyrès, located in Arles (Bouches-du-Rhône), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Abbey
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 43.6757, 4.6359
- Mérimée Reference
- PA13000022
A Palaeochristian vestige in the heart of the Alyscamps, this church, founded in the 5th century, has a rare trefoil plan and bears witness to fifteen centuries of Arles spirituality.
History
Nestling on the edge of the ancient necropolis of Les Alyscamps, the former church of Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Mouleyrès is one of Arles' most discreet and eloquent monuments. Rescued from centuries of destruction, wars and remodelling, it alone embodies the extraordinary historical density of this UNESCO World Heritage city. What makes this place truly unique is the superimposition of its architectural layers. The attentive visitor can read, as if in a stone palimpsest, the successive legacies of Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The former Palaeochristian nave, with its trefoil plan - a cruciform shape characteristic of early Christian sanctuaries - was reused as a sacristy during the 17th-century reconstruction, surviving the demolition of 1536 under a new functional identity. This architectural gesture of reuse is of rare sobriety and great heritage intelligence. The site is part of the vast funerary complex of Les Alyscamps, an ancient and medieval necropolis that already fascinated Dante and Van Gogh. Alongside the church of Saint-Honorat and the chapel of La Genouillade, Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul is one of the last remaining examples of the many chapels that once dotted this sacred path. The priory adjoining it to the south, enlarged in the 19th century, is a reminder of the monastic vocation that once animated this area. A visit here is well worthwhile for lovers of ancient architecture, religious history and archaeology. Far from the hustle and bustle of the city centre, the site offers a rare atmosphere of contemplation, conducive to meditation on the Christian origins of Roman Provence. Photographers and heritage enthusiasts will find exceptional material here, particularly in the play of light on the ochre stonework of the Midi region.
Architecture
The building as we see it today is the result of reconstruction undertaken at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, while incorporating elements that are extremely old. The main nave, built or rebuilt during this period, adopts a simple plan with a single nave, typical of rural religious architecture in Provence, with an east-west liturgical orientation and a semicircular apse to the east. The materials used are those of the local building tradition: limestone quarried in the Alpilles or the Arles region, with the golden hues characteristic of the town's old buildings. The most architecturally valuable feature of the site is undoubtedly the early Christian section with its trefoil floor plan, now used as a sacristy. This three-lobed structure, with its tangent apses forming a trefoil shape, is one of the few surviving examples in Provence of funerary devotional architecture from late Antiquity. Its masonry work, more irregular than that of the 17th century, preserves the memory of the construction techniques of the first Christian centuries. To the south of the church lies the main building of the priory, altered and enlarged in the 19th century to create a sober, functional architecture with no marked stylistic pretensions, in contrast to the age of the chapel. The ensemble forms an island of calm and history in the immediate vicinity of Les Alyscamps, where, along with the church of Saint-Honorat, it is one of the most significant archaeological and spiritual anchor points.
Related Figures
Adam de Craponne — ingénieur hydraulicien du XVIe siècle, concepteur du canal de Craponne dont le percement affecta le siteSaint Trophime d'Arles — premier évêque d'Arles, dont la mémoire est indissociable de la nécropole des AlyscampsPierre et Paul (apôtres) — saints titulaires du sanctuaire depuis sa fondation au Ve siècleDante Alighieri — évoqua les Alyscamps dans la Divine Comédie, immortalisant le lieu où s'inscrit cette égliseVincent van Gogh — peignit les Alyscamps lors de son séjour à Arles en 1888, contribuant à la célébrité du site
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancienne église Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul de Mouleyrès located?
Ancienne église Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul de Mouleyrès is located in Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, France.
When was Ancienne église Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul de Mouleyrès built?
Ancienne église Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul de Mouleyrès dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancienne église Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul de Mouleyrès open to visitors?
Ancienne église Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul de Mouleyrès is currently closed to visitors.