Early years...

     Very early chosen for its commanding military location over the surrounding plains, this site was first occupied by the Romans in the first century BC and, later, by the Saracens and the Francs in the 8th century.

 

     The leader of the Francs, Prince William of Orange, was called ''the Liberator''. He was Emperor Charlemagne's first cousin and he settled in the castle of Chateauneuf after he had chased the Saracens to Spain in the 8th Century. When he retired from fighting he founded the monastery of Gellone, called St Guilhelm le Desert after his death.

 

     Half of the columns and arcades of the cloister of that monastery are now kept in New York, at the Cloisters Museum.Later, great Provencal families-the Giraud Amics and the Simianes- built a stronghold with a tall keep reenforced by round and square towers.

 

     The first wall surrounding the village xas erected in 12th century. During the Popes'stay in Avignon, in the 14th c., the village grew, adding a large wall with towers and fortified doors.Unfortunately, these fortifications could not prevent the Catholic village of being attacked and heavily damaged by Protestant troops in 1562.