Photo : Véronique PAGNIER / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Château de Simiane-la-Rotonde
Property of the Simiane Agoult family, it underwent several major alterations according to periods of intense activity or partial abandonment. As early as 1031, it appears already in a deed of donation to the abbey of Saint-Victor as a Castrum, that is, a fortified space with lands dependent on a lord. The first keep, now vanished, was followed alongside by the enormous defensive tower still present, over 18 metres high, once surrounded by a wide defensive ditch. Recent restorations will let visitors grasp more accurately the living space of this very old family. A room devoted to history takes place within a very fine Romanesque hall: there you will discover the importance of the lords of Agoult, the centuries of splendour and abandonment of the castle and its present restoration. If this castle still needs several excavation projects to reveal all its mysteries, notably the north wing now collapsed, it will not fail to fascinate you with its centrepiece: the rotunda of the keep's state hall with its magnificent helical vault opening onto a zenithal oculus. Expressive stone masks, from a symbolic medieval bestiary and overlooking the hall's capitals, now coexist with contemporary works, renewed as exhibitions follow one another. A festival of early music makes this fine building, which once welcomed troubadours, resound each summer in August.
