At the 'Pas de Bouquet' (Saint Victor district), on the edge of Boulbon, there was an old Gallo-Roman 'villa', where remains of pottery, mosaics, urns, hearth cavities and statuettes have been found.
Saint Victor is on the old road which led from Tarascon to Avignon, along the west of the hill. The construction of this Romanesque chapel dates back to the end of the 9th century. The first official Act to mention it came from the Saint Agricol d'Avignon Chapter in 1155. According to tradition, it was in this chapel that the mother of Saint Francis of Assisi was baptised.
The name probably refers to the Roman officer Victor, who visited Christians in prison, was arrested in Marseille in 209, martyred and beheaded. It was on his tomb that the powerful Saint Victor Abbey was founded; it dominated the spiritual life of the region during the early Middle Ages.
Architectural description
The chapel consists of a single, double-bay nave opening onto an apse which is semi-circular inside and pentagonal outside. The nave is covered with a barrel vault. Light comes from a narrow window cut into the western façade and a wide oculus in the wall sits above the entrance to the apse. The portal on the western façade, now walled up, comprises a lintel supported by two small columns. This lintel, formed of three stones, is surmounted by a cupola brick relieving archway framing a smooth tympanum; above this is a projecting shield which is too badly damaged to read. The chapel has a slate stone roof and is supported by large abutments, except to the north-west. A small annex built of rubble stone is built onto its southern flank.
Accessible for disabled
The name probably refers to the Roman officer Victor, who visited Christians in prison, was arrested in Marseille in 209, martyred and beheaded. It was on his tomb that the powerful Saint Victor Abbey was founded; it dominated the spiritual life of the region during the early Middle Ages.
Architectural description
The chapel consists of a single, double-bay nave opening onto an apse which is semi-circular inside and pentagonal outside. The nave is covered with a barrel vault. Light comes from a narrow window cut into the western façade and a wide oculus in the wall sits above the entrance to the apse. The portal on the western façade, now walled up, comprises a lintel supported by two small columns. This lintel, formed of three stones, is surmounted by a cupola brick relieving archway framing a smooth tympanum; above this is a projecting shield which is too badly damaged to read. The chapel has a slate stone roof and is supported by large abutments, except to the north-west. A small annex built of rubble stone is built onto its southern flank.
Accessible for disabled
Location
Location
- www.tarascon.fr
Environment
Environment
- Close to a trunk road