La Verdière

Overview

A commune of the Var (83), arrondissement of Brignoles, canton of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, part of the Provence Verdon community of communes and of the Verdon Regional Nature Park. Postcode 83560. A Haut-Var commune, on the edge of the lower gorges of the Verdon.

Where to stay in La Verdière

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Services & shops in La Verdière

EV charging — in the village: Route De Varage (2 points), network eborn. See the map of Verdon charging points →

What to see, what to do

Château de La Verdière (château de Castellane-Forbin)

Often presented as the largest château in Provence by area: about 5,000 m² of living space on eight levels, 120 rooms, 365 doors and windows, a 40-metre terrace and a park of about 16 hectares. The original fortress goes back to 980 (the Castellane family); it was enlarged under the Vintimille (13th-14th century) and then turned into a pleasure residence by the Forbin, to whom it passed in 1613. From 1750 Louis-Roch de Forbin carried out seventeen years of work that gave it its present appearance and its sumptuous gypseries, considered one of the largest bodies of gypserie work in France (several thousand square metres). The building includes twenty-two drawing rooms, a large dining room, a ballroom, a library and an archive room. Château and park were classified as historic monuments by order of 23 June 1986 (Mérimée ref. PA00081774). Sold as a ruin in 1985, the château was bought in 2003 by Frédéric Champavère, who carried out its restoration. Privately owned, it has been closed to the public since 2023.

Parish church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption

A church attached to the château, at the top of the village, with which it communicates by an internal staircase. It keeps bells dated 1604 and 1615. The building is registered on the supplementary inventory of historic monuments.

Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Santé

A 15th-century chapel, a former place of pilgrimage.

Chapel of Saint-Roch

A chapel dedicated to Saint Roch, patron saint of the commune; it keeps a bell of 1617.

Chapel of Saint-Pierre-de-la-Mourotte

The chapel of the hamlet of la Mourotte, with a bell of 1746.

Priory of Notre-Dame-d'Église

A former priory (once 'Sancta Maria de Basseto'), a dependency of the Abbey of Saint-André at Villeneuve-lès-Avignon from the 12th to the 15th century.

Aqueduct and fountains of La Verdière

An aqueduct fed by the Montbrien spring, brought into use around 1826. The village also keeps several fountains and a wash-house, along old lanes lined with large houses of the 16th and 17th centuries.

History of La Verdière

The château has commanded the site since 980, the date of the first fortress built by the Castellane family, on a strategic point of the old road linking the Rhône valley side of Provence to Castellane. The lordship passed to the counts of Vintimille from 1262 to 1437, before returning to the Castellane. In 1385 Philipotte de Vintimille sided with the Angevins during the Provençal succession crisis. Between 1442 and 1471 several families from Sausses came to repopulate a community hard hit by the Hundred Years' War. In 1613 the estate passed to the house of Forbin (the Forbin d'Oppède branch), who made it their summer residence from the 17th to the 20th century and turned the fortress into a sumptuous mansion. The fief of the bastide de Brauch, for its part, belonged to the commandery of Saint-Maurice (Templars and then Hospitallers). Sold in 1985 and then restored from 2003 onwards, the château remains the heart of the village's identity.

Events & highlights

Saint-Roch votive festival — Mid-August

The village's patronal festival: mass at the chapel of Saint-Roch, processions, bingo and entertainment.

Jardins en Fête — May

An event devoted to gardens and plants, organised by the Foyer rural de La Verdière.