Page 171 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Provence & The Côte d'Azur

V A UCL USE  169

unadorned. It was founded
in 1148 by an abbott and 12
monks, and the building of the
serene north-facing abbey
church started 12 years later.
Some roofs of the building
are still tiled with limestone
slates called lauzes, also used
for making traditional stone
dwellings known as bories
(see p173). The abbey’s simply
designed interior has stone
walls, plain windows and
a barrel-vaulted ceiling.
Sénanque reached its zenith
in the early 13th century, when
the abbey owned several local
farms. But new riches brought
corruption in the 14th century,
and by the 17th century, only
two monks remained. In 1854
it was restored and housed
Cistercian monks, some of
whom remained there from Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, where the Sorgue river begins
1926 to 1969. The present
monks have been living there Beside the river is the Moulin qL’Isle-sur-la-
since 1988. à Papier Vallis Clausa, which Sorgue
produces handmade paper
using a 15th-century method. It Road map B3. * 19,400. £ @
sells maps, prints and lampshades. n Pl de la Liberté (04 90 38 04 78).
( Mon, Thu, Sat, Sun (antiques).
The underground museum, ∑ oti-delasorgue.fr
the Eco-Musée du Gouffre,
features a speleologist’s findings A haunt for antique hunters
over 30 years of exploring at weekends, this attractive
Sorgue’s dams, caves and town lies on the river Sorgue,
waterfalls. The Musée d’Histoire which once powered 70
1939–1945, traces the fate of watermills. Today, 14 idle
the Resistance during WWII and wheels remain. The ornate
daily life under Occupation. The 17th-century Notre-Dame-
Musée Bibliotheque Pétrarque des-Anges is a major attraction.
was the house where the poet The tourist office is in an
lived for 16 years, and wrote of 18th-century granary, and
Serene Abbaye de Sénanque built in the his love for Laura of Avignon. the Musée du Jouet et de la
12th century Poupée Ancienne has displays
P Moulin à Papier Vallis Clausa of antique toys and dolls.
Chemin du Gouffre. Tel 04 90 20 34 14.
0Fontaine-de- Open daily. Closed 1–15 Jan, 25 Dec. 7
Vaucluse = ∑ moulin-vallisclausa.com
E Eco-Musée du Gouffre
Road map B3. * 600. @ Avignon. (Musée de Spéléologie)
n Residence Jean Garcin, Ave Chemin du Gouffre. Tel 04 90 20 34 13.
Robert Garcin (04 90 20 32 22). Open Feb–15 Nov: daily. &
∑ oti-delasorgue.fr
7 restricted. 8 =
E Musée d’Histoire Jean Garcin
The source of the Sorgue river 1939–45
is one of the natural wonders Chemin de la Fontaine. Tel 04 90
of Provence. It begins under- 20 24 00. Open Apr–Oct: Wed–Mon
ground, with tributaries that pm only. Closed 1 May, 25 Dec. & 7
drain the Vaucluse plateau, an
area of around 2,000 sq km (800 E Musée Bibliotheque
sq miles). In the closed valley Pétrarque
above the town, water erupts Rive gauche de la Sorgue. Tel 04 90
from an unfathomable depth to 20 37 20. Open Apr–Oct: Wed–Mon. Water wheel near place Gambetta,
develop into a fully fledged river. Closed 1 May, Nov–Mar. & l’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue