As soon as you enter the cathedral, the eye is immediately drawn to the decorative richness of Saint Véran Chapel. Sculptures, gilding and Baroque details contrast with the sobriety of the rest of the building, creating a true sense of surprise.
Originally dedicated to Saint Martin, it was transformed when the relics of Saint Véran, the first bishop of Cavaillon, were installed here. The chapel was then entirely redesigned and became one of the city's major Baroque ensembles.
The gilded wooden altarpiece created by Barthélemy Grangrier (1650) frames a painting by Pierre Mignard (1657) depicting the famous miracle of Saint Véran confronting the Coulobre, a legendary creature associated with the Cavaillon area.
On the vault, observe the carved symbols: mitre, crozier and allegories of the virtues of Saint Véran. A Hebrew tetragrammaton is also depicted, recalling the spiritual foundations of the period.
Look out for: the abundance of gilding and the craftsmanship of the sculptors from the Comtat Venaissin, a rare example of such expressive Baroque art in the Luberon.
Since the Middle Ages, water has shaped the development of Cavaillon. Canals, hydraulic structures and agricultural uses bear witness to an ancient know-how, still visible today, which has deeply influenced the organisation of the territory and local life.
In the 12th century, the bishop of Cavaillon decided to build, near a chapel dedicated to Saint Julien, a wheat mill that would bear his name. To operate it, water was naturally required. He therefore requested permission from the Count of Toulouse to divert the waters of the Durance. 1171: the Saint-Julien Canal was born! It was then the largest canal in Provence!
The first irrigation took place in the 13th century. Since the mills were supplied with water from the Durance via a canal, the inhabitants of Cavaillon wished to do the same to irrigate their lands. The bishop of Cavaillon then authorised the residents to use the canal’s water to irrigate the agricultural plain.
In the 16th century, with the growth of agricultural production, water supply became precarious. It became urgent to redevelop the canal, notably by connecting it further upstream near Mérindol. But to do so, royal authorisation was required. Fortunately, in 1537, Francis I, returning from Italy, passed through Provence and granted permission to draw water from the Durance further upstream.
The first irrigation took place in the 13th century. Since the mills were supplied with water from the Durance via a canal, the inhabitants of Cavaillon wished to do the same to irrigate their lands. The bishop of Cavaillon then authorised the residents to use the canal’s water to irrigate the agricultural plain.
In the 16th century, with the growth of agricultural production, water supply became precarious. It became urgent to redevelop the canal, notably by connecting it further upstream near Mérindol. But to do so, royal authorisation was required. Fortunately, in 1537, Francis I, returning from Italy, passed through Provence and granted permission to draw water from the Durance further upstream.
General plan of irrigation in the Grès district, 17th century, National Archives.
After two centuries of struggle, landowning farmers, canal users and the municipality of Cavaillon appealed to the Vaucluse prefecture. The prefecture established a compulsory association by prefectural decree on July 30, 1818, and this association has since been responsible for managing the canal.
Since the Middle Ages, the Saint-Julien Canal has contributed to the development of fruit and vegetable farming, including the famous Cavaillon melon. This rich agricultural plain now extends over more than 6,000 hectares.
Hydraulic engineering structure
In 1538, Baron Jean Maynier d’Oppède obtained the concession of water from the Saint-Julien mill to irrigate his Rouret estate. It then became necessary to design a structure capable of crossing the Coulon: this would be the remarkable Canau, now listed as a Historic Monument.
Made up of two stone arches, its structure supported a watertight wooden aqueduct suspended by metal hooks. In the event of flooding, only the wooden structure was swept away, while the arches remained intact.
Today, the Saint-Julien Canal extends for nearly 200 km and crosses several municipalities in the area, bearing witness to exceptional hydraulic expertise.
A town set in the plain, Cavaillon maintains a close connection with agriculture. The Cavaillon melon, an emblem of the area, illustrates this long-standing relationship between agricultural know-how, terroir and local identity, which has helped build the town’s reputation far beyond the Luberon.
In 1864, the municipal library of Cavaillon was created. Still very new, and almost empty of books. The librarian, Antoine Zacharie Seguin, then had an idea: why not ask authors to donate some of their most famous works?
This is how novelists, poets and félibres such as Victor Hugo, William Bonaparte-Wyse, Théodore Aubanel, and also Alexandre Dumas, received this letter. While the request mentioned a donation of three or four books, Alexandre Dumas thought bigger: he was willing to offer a copy of each of his works to the town, but in exchange for a small consideration…
Here was his reply: “If the town and authorities of Cavaillon value my books, I greatly value their melons; and I wish that, in exchange for my three or four hundred volumes, I be granted by municipal decree a life annuity of twelve melons per year. Shipping costs, of course, remaining at my expense.” On November 13, 1864, the municipal council unanimously approved this decree!
The story could have remained confined to Cavaillon’s local records, but the letters were published in Le Petit Journal (printed in Paris at the time, with a circulation of nearly 150,000 copies). Donations of books then began to pour into the Cavaillon library.
Alexandre Dumas then became a renowned ambassador! First for the municipal library, which would reach 876 volumes by the end of 1864, and double that the following year. And also for the famous Cavaillon melon! If he could take pride in a reputation as one of the great writers of his time, he could do the same with his annuity of 12 melons per year.
He would not forget this culinary friendship with the town: in the Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine that he wrote, he said:
« I have only one wish to express: that my books may always have for the people of Cavaillon the same charm that their melons have for me. It is at once an opportunity to express to my good friends of Cavaillon all my gratitude, and to point out to all of Europe their melons as the best I know. »
Between agricultural areas, canals and natural spaces, the Cavaillon plain is home to a rich and fragile biodiversity. This diversity of landscapes helps maintain the area’s ecological balance and offers a precious natural setting on the very edge of town.
Following the Durance upstream towards the Saint-Jacques Hill and reaching the waters of the Coulon.
The Durance, a river often described as “capricious,” once feared for its floods, is nevertheless the largest torrent in Europe. It is the life-giving mother of the whole of Provence. With its winding course, this river forms a true biological corridor.
The flowing waters are home to several hundred species of invertebrates and fish. The oxbow lakes and riparian forests also provide habitat for many species of waterbirds and mammals, right on the doorstep of the town of Cavaillon.
Saint-Jacques Hill is the only limestone relief in the Cavaillon plain, a fragment of the Petit Luberon separated from it. Its flora and natural habitats benefit from a warm, dry Mediterranean climate. The massif is covered with holm oak coppices, Aleppo pine forests in sheltered valleys, garrigue with kermes oak, and rosemary elsewhere.
Among the plants found in the garrigue of Saint-Jacques Hill is one that has inspired architecture since antiquity: the acanthus.
Several bird species nest here, including the Eurasian eagle-owl and the blue rock thrush. The ocellated lizard also inhabits the open, rocky garrigue of this site, along with a wide variety of insects.
The Coulon, also known as the Calavon, is a torrential river within the Luberon Regional Natural Park. It rises in the village of Banon, on the foothills of the Albion Plateau in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, flowing through the spectacular Oppedette Gorges before continuing its course through towns including Apt and Cavaillon, and finally joining the Durance 86 km downstream.
There are also 46 notable animal species recorded here, including 9 key species. Among them are several mammals such as bats and the European beaver, birds including the little owl, white-throated dipper and short-toed snake eagle, as well as terrestrial and aquatic insects (butterflies, dragonflies) and various fish species.
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