30 September 2021 | Tourism
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
Moustiers is officially one of the "most beautiful villages in France". It is located at the western entrance to the Gorges du Verdon.
The village has been a center of the pottery trade for centuries. A spring gushes out of the cliff and creates a waterfall in town, providing water power.
The village is built on terraced platforms a hundred meters up the side of a limestone cliff. At dusk, when the sun on a clear day hits the south-facing cliff, a diffuse pink light shines through the village. Above the city, a star painted in gold hangs from a 225 m long chain suspended between two cliffs. Its origin, according to a legend popularized by the Provençal poet Frédéric Mistral, is in the tenth century; the original star and chain have been replaced several times since then. The current star is about 50 years old. Ten years ago she fell after the chain broke and was resuspended using a helicopter.
Earthenware in the heart of Moustiers
Local resources (water, wood, clay) have allowed the emergence of a pottery tradition in the heart of the village of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie. The earthenware museum now has 5 rooms, with the most beautiful 17th century and contemporary pieces exhibited there. The master potters offer quality pieces with original decorations.
200 years of intense activity
From the production of ceramics The production of ceramics in Provence dates back to the Neolithic and Antiquity. They were intended for the use of the building for the preservation of food or for the use of the table.
End of history and renewal Major upheavals in France and around the world are undermining 200 years of intense activity. Scarcity of raw materials, competition from English porcelain... so many factors that sign the death warrant of earthenware.
Earthenware museum To complete your visit, browse the museum which represent different eras. You will also see a film that retraces the history of faience de Moustier and presents the different stages of manufacture, shaping, decoration and firing.