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Thoronet (Le)

Nested in the wooded glens of the Varois backcountry is the Cistercian abbey of Thoronet, where emotion springs from the total sobriety of the architecture, stone and light are combined to perfection. The abbey was founded in 1136 by monks from Mazan in Ardèche. We know that they were supported by the Count of Provence Raymond Béranger, that they first lived on a less favourable site near Tourtour, they were poor then rich thanks to their large herds of sheep, then exploited by their commendatory abbot before being driven out during the Revolution. But above all, the first monks who built the abbey were exceptional stone-cutters, respectful of a perfect Bernadine layout and that, several centuries later, Prosper Mérimée and Viollet le Duc were fascinated by their work of art which enabled the abbey to be restored to perfection. Other architects such as le Corbusier and above all Fernand Pouillon were also fascinated by the abbey. The latter brought it to life in his book Les Pierres Sauvages (The Wild Stones), the diary of the master-builder.