Soleilhas

Overview

commune

Where to stay in Soleilhas

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What to see, what to do

Chapel of Saint-Barnabé (col de Saint-Barnabé)

A 13th-century Romanesque chapel built on the pass that separates the Verdon valley from that of the Estéron, dedicated to the parish's patron saint. Its altar table bears an inscription in Latin letters dated by archaeologists to the Julio-Claudian period (around the beginning of our era), a remarkable reuse of an ancient piece. Parishioners walk in procession here every 11 June, the saint's feast day. A nearby oratory is dated 1783.

Parish church of Saint-Barnabé

The parish church of the present village, dedicated to Saint Barnabé, built in the 17th century after the population came down from the old fortified village.

Chapel of Notre-Dame-du-Plan

The former medieval parish church of the 13th century, standing in the cemetery, partly rebuilt in the 16th century.

Chapel of Saint-Pierre (Verraillon)

A chapel of the 12th-13th centuries in the Verraillon area, a former fief abandoned in 1471 and then attached to Soleilhas, a reminder of the communities that have disappeared from the commune.

Old fortified village of Saint-Jean and château

The original village occupied the fortified hilltop site of Saint-Jean, at 1,354 m, perched on a fold of the Teillon mountain and mentioned as early as 1252 (its origins are older). From the 16th century the population moved down from it. A château was built between 1630 and 1662 (a rusticated façade with mullioned windows); it was plundered and ransacked in 1793.

Roman milestone (Les Bailes)

A 3rd-century milestone at the locality of Les Bailes, a marker on a Roman road linking Castellane to Entrevaux that crossed the area.

Vauplane summer pasture and valley

The hanging valley of Vauplane, historically given over to transhumance and still used as summer pasture. A small ski area was laid out here (a few lifts), one of the very few winter-sports facilities in this part of the region.

Fountain-wash houses and oratories

Four 19th-century fountain-wash houses, a horizontal-wheel mill on the Riou (18th-19th centuries) and a dozen 19th-century oratories dotted around the commune.

History of Soleilhas

The name Soleilhas comes from the Latin Soliculum (around 1200), meaning a place well exposed to the sun. The old fortified village, perched on the Teillon mountain, is first mentioned in 1252, but its origins probably go back at least two centuries earlier. A Roman road linking Castellane to Entrevaux crossed the area, attested by a 3rd-century milestone. Over time Soleilhas absorbed the neighbouring fiefs — La Moutte (13th century), Verraillon (abandoned in 1471) and Vauplane. In 1656 the lordship passed from Alphonse d'Oraison to Philippe Moricaud. Sheep farming dominated the economy, with flocks of more than 6,000 head in the 17th century. From the 16th century the population came down from the old fortified village to be closer to the cultivated land; the present village came into being around the middle of the 17th century. In April 1789 two anti-seigneurial riots broke out (1-5 April): Pierre Chabaud, a farmer, died during the second, and the château was ransacked in 1793. The population peaked at around 634 inhabitants in 1841 before falling sharply (206 in 1926) under the effect of the rural exodus, then settling at around 90 inhabitants today. Sheep and goat farming and the Vauplane summer pasture survive.

Events & highlights

Saint-Barnabé festival — 11 June

A procession to the chapel of Saint-Barnabé at the pass, on the feast day of the parish's patron saint.