Ancienne Abbaye de la Celle

Var


Built over an earlier Christian structure (itself sitting on the foundations of a Roman villa), this 12th-century Benedictine Romanesque abbey has been exhaustively restored and is now well worth a visit. It once housed communities of both monks and nuns, until its dissolution during the Revolution, and has now been brought back to something like its original majesty, including beautiful gardens. An English-language pamphlet can be downloaded from the abbey's website.


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