MAUSSANE LES ALPILLES - Towards Les-Baux-de-Provence

Dans les Alpilles, l'eau est partout. Pour approvisionner l'ensemble des communes, de nombreux ouvrages hydrauliques ont été construits par l'homme. Au sein de Maussane-les-Alpilles, la situation géographique a conduit à la création d'un aqueduc pour faire passer le canal de la Vallée des Baux.

Between vineyards and olive trees, stands the castle of Baux-de-Provence. The oldest remains of the medieval castle of Les Baux date back to the 12th century. On the same date, the village around the castle already existed, with its few streets, its houses partly troglodytes (dug in the rock) and its two churches: Saint-Vincent in the middle of the houses on the spur and Saint-André with its cemetery at the foot of the slope.

The Protected Designation of Origin "Les Baux-de-Provence" was obtained for the wines, in 1995. It now includes 12 producers who cultivate 350 hectares of vineyards on the northern and southern slopes of the Alpilles, for an annual production of 9,000 hectolitres. This production is obtained 85% in organic farming. The producers are also willing to include this specificity as a mandatory criterion, so as to become the first organic PDO wine in France.

In respect of olives and olive oils, the protected designation of origin "Valley of Baux-de-Provence" is today the symbol of quality. It was obtained on August 31, 1997 for three products: broken green olives, pitted black olives and olive oil. The olive trees bathed in the Provencal sun produce "Ardente" olive oils with fruity aromas. To note : olive oil from the Baux-de-Provence Valley currently accounts for 30% of national production!

The baou troucas or holed rocks can be observed from the track. Looking up, you will notice an irregular calcareous rock, with numerous holes.

Bauxite, named after the Baux-de-Provence, is a mix of clay, aluminum oxide and iron oxide, generally red but sometimes tiger or whitish color, depending on the iron oxide and impurity content.

Started in 1868, the construction of the Arles-Salon railway line was completed in 1887. In 1900, a traffic evaluation shows that the number of passengers and goods (cereals, wine, coal) is small. Although the prosperity of the villages benefited from connection to the rail network, the line was finally closed in 1950, in a context favorable to road traffic.

The estate of the Escanin Castle is surrounded by ancient plane trees. A chapel of the 18th century is hidden inside.

This mural was realized in 2014 by 35 students under the mentorship of the artist Jean-Claude Quilici. The latter is a painter of Corsican origin, born in Marseille in 1941, who has a workshop in Maussane-les-Alpilles. Specialized in Provencal painting, he exhibited in the largest French, American and Japanese galleries. ;Among other things, he has created a 40m by 4m mural for the University of Corte and a 130m long mural for the Marseille metro.

This Second Empire wash house style (Napoleon III), was inaugurated on March 26, 1865, after having been realized by the Avignon architect Louis Astruc. The inhabitants of the town came there to do their laundry, making an important social meeting place. For the period this wash house presented a great particularity : It allowed to do the laundry standing, and no longer on the knees. ;