Legendary Apt area
From the hills and vales to the hand-hollowed rock water storage aiguiers, the mysterious anecdotes and enigmatic tales of the entire Luberon area are told. Four hundred centuries of human activity, full of mystery, ingenuity, and beauty, the Apt area stretches between two mountains home to wolves and to gods.
We invite you to explore this extraordinary, marvellous area and to discover the wonder and mystique of the countryside around Apt. René Bruni.
First day – The Combe de Lourmarin or Lourmarin valley was an ancient road that crossed the Luberon range and connected the Durance valley to the Calavon valley and led to the Buoux fort. Buoux has been a citadel for over a thousand years. It overflows with history and magic and is the soul of the area. After visiting the Buoux fort, cross the Claparedes plateau from south to north to reach Apt via the "lo prat dei mascas" – Druids' rock and Rocsalière road. Not long ago, shepherds refused to graze their flocks in this rocky field where it is said witches gathered the grass at the full moon. Today, this "witches' field" still calls to mind stories of spells being cast and other mysteries our grandparents discussed by the fireside during the long winter nights. 2nd day – Leave Apt for "Mandragore and Bruni Aven". Near Auribeau lies a swallowhole, as black as night. A phantasmagorical story is told about this cave, a type of message – truth handed down over the ages, which continues to be whispered from generation to generation, here in the heart of Sagittarius Luberon. Visit the city of Apt and Sainte Anne basilica, one of the oldest in Provence. See the crypts, where legend has it that a deaf, dumb and blind boy found the relics which include the famous veil. 3rd day – Leave Apt behind to explore the valley streaked with a thousand colours, the ochre cliffs, the twisted box canyons, the old ochre mines that have since been abandoned. From the castrum in Roussillon, take in the stupendous view – see the Giants' Causeway, and Naiads' Fountain. This amazing spot has given rise to the legend of the "troubadour whose heart was eaten".
The afternoon takes you to Saint Saturnin lès Apt, the village where there remains the memory of the miracle worked by Rosette Tamisier at the Calvaire Chapel. It is also said that the Chapel du Griffon houses the Treasure of the Knights Templar, which has yet to be found.
4th day - The ghost of the Marquis de Sade continues to haunt the village of Lacoste. However, Lacoste was also home to "Malachier, miller to the devil" and sculptor of phantasmagorical, naïve works. The sculptures can still be seen aligned on a wall at the Mas des Pins.
The Luberon of legends then takes us to Ménerbes to see a dolmen in the heart of Provence. Below the village, at the place known as La Pichouno, the only dolmen in Vaucluse was erected here, 2000 to 3000 years BC, built of a single monolithic block atop a stone wall.
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