Situation
The last locality in the Apt basin (13 km off the N100 road), clinging to the northern slopes of Grand Luberon, Castellet stretches from the river Calavon to Mourre Nègre, which rises to a height of 1125 metres and offers a magnificent panoramic view from the Mediterranean to the high Alps. The village itself is situated at 460 metres, with the villages of Saint Martin de Castillon to the east and north, Auribeau and Saignon to the west and Cabrière d’Aigues on the other side of the ridge. The terrain presents two contrasting forms.
One aspect is the side of Luberon, with its mountainous character and steep slopes carved by erosion, where exposed limestone rock forms steep cliffs, rocks and screes. Steep, wild valleys, wooded with oak and beech, converge towards the ridge. The other is the alluvial area at the foot of the mountain, sloping gently down to the Calavon; this fertile land has been cultivated since ancient times and bears the marks of hard human labour. Here we find the village and the hamlets of Gaudins, Piroublet and Moulin Rout du Calavon.
Agriculture and craft industries
The main activity of Castellet is based on agriculture. The olive trees have almost disappeared due to frost damage in 1956, 1962 and 1985. Almond, plum and cherry trees have been more resistant, but the hillside melon is now rare. Vines still flourish, with a recent trend towards growing grapes for the table. Lavandin, although sensitive to falling prices, maintains a significant position and has enabled a traditional distillery to survive in the village.
In the higher valleys, you can still see the charcoal works from which mules carried down their loads. The pottery industry, founded in 1728 by the potter Moulin, contributed to the village’s reputation until at least 1852.
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Leisure activities
Tourism developed quietly and more slowly than in nearby villages, and has not changed the authenticity of Castellet, which has the most mountainous character of the Luberon settlements. Footpaths start at the foot of the mountain. They present varying degrees of difficulty and often have steep gradients,but allow you to quickly reach the ridge and Mourre Nègre. Walkers and hikers find this to be an ideal place for a holiday. Down at the bottom, the cool water of the Calavon in springtime attracts visitors who picnic in the shade of the poplar trees.
History
Inhabited since prehistoric times, in particular by the Gauls, Castellet (from “Castelum Loetum”, the “Laughing Castle”, or more simply CASTEL-L-ITUM) was subjugated in about 121 BC by the Romans, who improved the ancient Gaulish roads. The Domitian Way passed through Le Boisset and the hamlet of Gaudins before dividing into two at Castrum du Castellet, where one section headed towards Auribeau and the other to Saignon. From the invasions until the French Revolution, security problems resulted in large demographic fluctuations (Saracen raids on Garde Freinet in the 8th century, plundering by irregular soldiers in the 14th, the devastation caused by Raymond de Beaufort at the end of the 14th, the trouble brought by the wars of religion, and the great epidemic of plague of 1720) and successive waves of abandonment of the countryside, followed in calmer periods by calls for colonisers to repopulate the areas concerned. As for the families who reigned over the village, we can mention the Counts of Forcalquier from the 12th century to 1483, the Brancas family until 1753 and the surgeon Ailhaud de Lourmarin (ennobled in 1758) up to the Revolution.
The population at that time numbered more than 300 souls but fell again with the flight from the land caused by the industrial revolution, the growth of the railways and above all the haemorrhage of the Great War. In 1929 the village had 225 inhabitants. This brief historic view will enable you to better understand the deep roots of the families (some of whom go back to the 14th c.), their attachment to the land, their proud and jealous love of the homeland and respect for tradition, liberty and independence, without refusing the changes brought by the modern world.
Heritage
Clinging to the hill beneath the remains of the old Castel, the village is a labyrinth of narrow flowered streets and fine old houses of the farming community. Visitors must see César Moulin’s house, the vaulted steps in the village square, the ancient priory, the fountain and the church with its porch and choir in the Roman style. Outside the village you will find the ruins of the Sainte Croix chapel, not forgetting the workshops of the sculptor Edmond Gentoli and the watercolorist Edmée Radar. |
