As you walk along this chapel trail, you’ll retrace the history of our villages’ brotherhoods, which grew in number from the 13th century onwards, and some of which are still going strong today! In a spirit of brotherhood and mutual aid, confreres gathered in chapels to dedicate their activities to a common cause.
Along the way, you can discover the history of the following brotherhoods…
– The Confrérie des Pénitents Blancs, which began working for peace after the Wars of Religion in 1615.
– The Pénitents noirs brotherhood, which fought against the plague epidemic of 1670
– The brotherhood of Saint Claude
– The brotherhood of Saint Laurent
…all associated with beautiful chapels that you can either admire or imagine…
– White Penitents chapel
– Saint Laurent chapel
– Saint Claude chapel, razed to the ground during the French Revolution
Only one chapel is not linked to the confraternities:
– The Sainte Croix chapel in Vaison-la-Romaine: dedicated to the cult of Saint Quenin, bishop of the Vaison diocese in 600 AD.
This spirit of solidarity persists in Villedieu. Even today, the Confrérie Saint Vincent, founded by a group of winegrowers, promotes local cru wines. Its members have been defending the Côtes du Rhône appellation since 1973.
Every year, a new member joins the Confrérie and pledges to defend the appellation.
Route 1 Chemin des Chapelles - visual
Route 1 Chemin des Chapelles - layout
Village of Villedieu
Village of Villedieu
Village of Villedieu
