Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, at the source of the Sorgue

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At Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, the Sorgue emerges beneath a towering cliff before flowing through the village. This photo report follows the river, recalls explorations of the chasm and traces Petrarch’s connection with the valley.

The Fontaine de Vaucluse

Access to the spring: current restrictions

Direct access to the chasm and the foot of the cliff is prohibited until further notice because of falling rocks. The riverside path remains accessible as far as the safety barrier. Stay behind it and follow signs on site. Check the tourist office’s access notice before visiting.

The Fontaine-de-Vaucluse is an exceptional natural site: a narrow valley runs into the mountain and ends in a cul-de-sac, and at the foot of a towering cliff 230 metres high, a river rises from the depths of the earth with clear and abundant waters. This river called the Sorgue is a mystery, coming from nowhere it flows into the valley and flows into the plain in the shade of the plane trees, tamed by man it irrigates the fertile land to Avignon. People have drawn food from its fish-rich waters and used the energy of its current to develop local industries. Many mills were established on the banks of the Sorgue. Even today, the river still makes the village rich: it attracts many visitors who come to walk along its banks and enjoy the scenery of the valley, the walk is easy, it is the most visited natural site of the Vaucluse.

The Fontaine-de-Vaucluse Gouffre

During low water periods, it is a cave dug at the foot of the cliff that opens onto a deep well where the level of stagnant water, measured by a "sorgometer", varies unpredictably according to the season. This abyss has always intrigued men, the Romans used to place offerings in the form of coins. In our time, a Marseilles diver reached -23 metres in 1878, a diver reached -30 metres in 1938, Commander Cousteau and his team reached -46 metres in 1946, -84 metres in 1955 and -106 metres with a "télénaute". The maximum depth of -309 metres was reached in 1985, without the underwater probe being able to venture further into the galleries seen. The Norbert Casteret Museum of the Underground World and Caving retraces the history of these explorations. The source is an exurgence, the point where an underground river fed by infiltrating rainwater emerges. It is one of Europe’s major karst springs. The impluvium extends over 1250 km2, it collects rainwater from Mont Ventoux, the Sault region and the Albion plateau (for example the chasm of Le Caladaire near Banon), to Montagne de Lure.

When an intense rainstorm waters the catchment area of the Fontaine de Vaucluse, the water level soon rises to the point of overflowing the basin. The flow of water from the cliff is impressive. The sorgometer was installed in 1869, it is a scale of 25 graduated bars, divided into 4 sections. The overflow threshold is 21 metres, and the highest recorded flood was 23.80 metres in January 1994.

History of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse

The Fontaine de Vaucluse site has been occupied since prehistoric times, as archaeological discoveries show. The Romans built a canal to collect the water from the fountain and transport it to Cavaillon and perhaps Avignon. The spring was the focus of a thriving cult: speleologists collected ancient coins inside.

The village community of Vallis Closa - the enclosed valley - is documented in the archives in the 10th century, a monastery housed the tomb of Saint-Véran. The fiefdom belongs to the bishops of Cavaillon whose ruined 13th century castle still dominates the village. From the 16th century onwards, the spring powered many mills and supported the development of the paper industry. Vaucluse like Isle sur la Sorgue became an industrial centre. The advent of electricity brought an end to the water-powered mills; the last paper mills closed in 1968. The "Vallis Clausa" paper mill perpetuates the ancestral know-how.

Fontaine-de-Vaucluse by the painter Hubert Robert - 1783 - Musée Calvet in Avignon

The village of Vaucluse gave its name to the department during the Revolution. Vaucluse comes from the word "Vallis Clausa" meaning simply the enclosed valley. The village was called "Vaucluse-la-Fontaine", it changed its name to "Fontaine-de-Vaucluse" in 1946 to distinguish it from the department.

The Bishops’ Castle

This fortress, which controlled this place frequented by pilgrims, probably dates back to 1030. The feudal rights over the Vaucluse estate belonged to the bishops of Cavaillon, the most famous of whom was Philippe de Cabassolle, Petrarch's friend. The presence of the castle did not prevent the village from being sacked by bandits just after the poet's departure.

The ruins of the castle are accessible on foot via a staircase starting near the Library Museum. After the houses, it becomes a stony and steep path. The ruins of the castle are built directly on the edge of the cliff. The view is superb over the valley and the narrow canyon where the Sorgue rises. The ruins of the castle are not equipped with special protections, they are not recommended for young children.

The Galas Aqueduct Bridge

Near Fontaine-de-Vaucluse a large aqueduct blocks the valley and spans the road and the river. It was built in 1854-1857 to allow the Carpentras Canal to cross the Sorgue. It stands 24 metres above the river and has 13 arches for a length of 159 metres. It is the main engineering structure of the Carpentras canal, which irrigates the Vaucluse with the waters of the Durance taken towards Mérindol in the south of the Luberon, which it leads to the Aigues towards Vacqueyras. For walks near the canal, follow local signs and any access restrictions.

The legend of Saint Véran and the Coulobre

Saint Véran is the patron saint of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse and an evangelizer of Provence. He was elected bishop of Cavaillon in 586 and legend has attributed many miracles to him. Saint-Véran's most famous achievement is his fight against the Coulobre, a monster living in a cave of the Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, a huge and stinking beast with red eyes, a large mouth with sharp teeth, covered with scales like shields, and swinging a large tail equipped with bone blades. Legend has it that Tarasque haunted the area around Tarascon. Saint Véran is buried in Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, his tomb is the subject of a pilgrimage attested in the 10th century. The parish church of Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Véran dates from the 11th century and contains the sarcophagus that once held the saint’s remains. His relics were transferred to Cavaillon in the church that took his name.

Petrarch, father of European humanism

Francesco Petracco, known as Petrarca, was born in 1304 into an exiled Florentine family who came to Avignon to seek their fortune at the court of the Popes in 1312. He studied in Carpentras and then studied law at the University of Montpellier. At the Pontifical Court of Avignon, the young man befriended the powerful Roman family of the Colonnas. He was a young courtier, soon recognised as a poet and a man of letters. Petrarch met Laure de Noves in the church of Sainte-Claire in Avignon on April 6, 1327, Laure was the wife of Hugues de Sade, it was the beginning of an unrequited, platonic love lasting twenty-one years, until Laure's death in 1348 during the plague epidemic. This romantic and sublimated love inspired him to write the 366 poems of Le Canzoniere, a collection passed down to posterity, written not in Latin but in the Italian vernacular. This work had a considerable influence on the history of literature. In 1337, fleeing the pomp of the papal court of Avignon, a city "cesspool of all vices", he found refuge near the Fontaine de Vaucluse and the castle of his very close friend Philippe de Cabassolle, Bishop of Cavaillon. He stayed there on several occasions, writing, receiving friends, and walking in the surrounding hills. He left his holiday home as the "centre of his emotional and intellectual life" to travel to France, Germany and Italy. He campaigned unsuccessfully for the return of Pope Clement VI to Rome. He returned irregularly to his home in Fontaine-de-Vaucluse in the early 1350s. He left Provence permanently for Italy in 1353. Shortly after his departure his house was looted and burned by bandits. After a long and busy life, he died in Arqua near Padua in 1374 on the eve of his seventieth birthday.

Portrait of Petrarch and Laura, Venetian school, around 1510

Visit Fontaine de Vaucluse in photos : slideshow

Accommodation near Fontaine-de-Vaucluse

Bed and Breakfast in the surroundings of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse

Sights and activities

• Church Notre-Dame et Saint-Véran
• Medieval castle
• Waterwheels
• François Pétrarque Library Museum : memento.vaucluse.fr
• Museum of the Call to Liberty : memento.vaucluse.fr. Museum of the history of the Occupation and the Resistance during the Second World War. It is named after Jean Garcin, a resistance fighter alongside René Char, born in Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, who had a political career. .
• Vallis Clausa Paper Mill : moulin-vallisclausa.com. Paper production according to ancestral methods, using the driving force of the river as in the 15th century.
• Museum of the Underground World and Caving: a visit to a life-size reconstituted setting of a chasm, waterfall, underground river, frescoes and prehistoric traces
• Museum of Santons and Provençal Traditions : musee-du-santon.e-monsite.com. The museum presents 60 Provençal crèches with more than 2200 unique pieces.
• The riverside walk remains accessible as far as the gate near the spring. Direct access to the chasm is closed for safety reasons. Parking in Fontaine-de-Vaucluse is subject to a charge.
• Many restaurants.
• Hiking and mountain biking
• Canoeing and Kayaking in the river
• La Passerelle des Cîmes : treetop adventure course
• Galas aqueduct bridge: an aqueduct built in 1854-1857 for the Carpentras canal which irrigates the Vaucluse with the waters of the Durance taken towards Mérindol south of the Luberon and it joins the Aigues towards Vacqueyras.
• Le Mur de la Peste passes over the heights of the Monts du Vaucluse between Fontaine-de-Vaucluse and Lagnes

Events

• Trail running and local sporting events: consult the municipality’s current programme.
• Raid Vallis Clausa : vaucluse-aventures.fr

Getting to Fontaine-de-Vaucluse

GPS coordinates : N 43°55'18'' - E 5°07'40''

Location : altitude 80 metres above sea level, 660 inhabitants, 5 km from Saumane-de-Vaucluse, 8 km from Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, 11 km from Velleron, 16 km from Pernes-les-Fontaines, 17 km from Gordes, 30 km from Avignon

Getaways · Guest Houses in Provence PortalMore getaways in Provence Explore further with my articles in the Getaways section of the Guest Houses in Provence Portal: At Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, the Sorgue rises from the depths and Fontaine-de-Vaucluse Castle above the Sorgue.