The Church

In 1513, the lords of Forbin signed the first settlement charter for La Roque-d’Anthéron, one of the few Waldensian villages on the left bank of the Durance. The Waldensians trace their origins to a 12th-century Christian community that was long persecuted and, over time, scattered across the Alps, southern Italy, and the Luberon. They settled in the Silvacane neighborhood and worshiped in secret in the Baume valley, which can still be seen today.

The first church built in the village dates back to 1560. Melchior de Forbin had it walled up. Even today, no one knows where it was located. The current church dates from 1825 and is located in the old Waldensian quarter on Rue du Temple.

Its baptismal font and communion table are made of Carrara marble from Italy. They were taken from the base of a statue of Louis XIV, which was thrown into the Protestant cemetery by revolutionaries from Marseille.

The organ was built by the Walcker family, a renowned German family of organ builders dating back to the 18th century. It was donated in 1877 by Adolphe Gaïffe—a prominent figure of his time and a friend of Victor Hugo—to the Protestant Church in Oron, Switzerland, to celebrate the birth of his daughter. After a stint at the Protestant school in Marseille, it was generously donated to the town of La Roque-d’Anthéron by the presbyteral council of the ERF Marseille Grignan.