← Discover Graveson

Croix de Graveson

13690 Graveson

CallWebsiteDirections

Graveson Cross.

Situated at the entrance to the village, in the squares and at crossroads, these crosses were a daily companion to farm labourers, travellers, merchants and soldiers alike, all of whom looked to them for protection and blessings. They were objects of reverence and a reason for frequent visits, during which people would adorn them with flowers and tend to them. Even the most remote ones were visited annually by parishioners during the ‘Rogations’, processions of picturesque renown. A census recorded more than thirty of them before 1789, and of these, around ten have disappeared: only 24 remain, scattered throughout the Graveson region: - Croix de la Meuille (Chemin des Meuilles): Situated in the Meuille district (a former pond that dried up in the 16th century), on the grounds of the farmhouse of the same name, this cross appears to date from the 19th century. It consists of a cippus surmounted by a chamfer and a slab, upon which rests a square-section shaft. An iron cross crowns the structure, but it is not original; the capital is also missing, having been removed. - Cross on Place Jean Jeanne: A 15th-century cross with a chamfered shaft fitted with a fluted capital. It was originally topped by a stone cross; the present one was rebuilt based on the original design in the early 19th century. The structure was restored in the 1970s. - Cross at the Arènes (Chemin des Arènes): A plinth on steps featuring a groove in the centre, topped by a moulded slab. The shaft of this cross appears to be a reused ancient column (due to its shape and capital). The wrought-iron cross dates from the 18th century, later than the rest of the structure, which dates from the 17th century. - Cross at the Mas d’Anselme (Chemin du Mas d’Anselme): A cross erected in 1922 by the Baragnon family on the farmstead’s grounds. The plinth is hexagonal and bears a dedicatory inscription on three sides. The short shaft is surmounted by a wrought-iron cross. - Croix des Aires / de Salome (Route d’Avignon): This cross, erected in the late 18th century by the Salome family, marked the site of the numerous public threshing floors to the north of the village, but was later moved to its current location. It consists simply of a square shaft, replaced in 1997, and a small iron cross. - Coeur / Gramejan Cross (Chemin de la Roulade): Its name ‘Gramejan’ means ‘mid-stream’, as this cross stands on stony ground situated between two branches of an ancient river: the Fossé des Lônes and the former bed of the Durance. In the 19th century, it came to be known as the Croix de Cœur, as the Mas de Cœur was nearby. The structure features a simple cubic plinth supporting an elongated shaft and an iron cross. - Croix de la Folie (Avenue Lieutenant Atger): This is one of the oldest crosses in the region: it is first mentioned as early as the 15th century. The 13th-century locality known as ‘Stultitia’ gave it its original name, but in the 18th century it also came to be known as the Croix de l’Aubarède. Its base is buried, leaving only the square shaft and the large but simple iron cross that crowns it visible. - Mas de la Chapelle Cross (Chemin Mas Musique): A cross erected in the 14th century but rebuilt in the 18th and then the 19th centuries, situated next to the Mas de la Chapelle, which was built in the Middle Ages. It consists of a massive plinth, a shaft with a base and capital, and a beautiful wrought-iron cross. - Petit Saint Jean Cross (Avenue Frédéric Mistral): A cross at a crossroads that replaced a larger monument known as ‘La Croix Couverte’, a Gothic structure destroyed during the Revolution. The curved plinth from the early 19th century was destroyed and replaced by a massive cubic structure in 1989. The shaft (an ancient column) was reused for the Croix des Arènes; the current large wrought-iron cross dates from 1830. - Château / Princes Cross (Cours National): A cross erected during a mission around 1815–1817. It features a plinth...

Automatically translated

Listing provided by Office de Tourisme Intercommunal de Terre de Provence (updated by the source on 18/05/2026).

Tourist office data: DATAtourisme, Licence Ouverte (French open licence), updated 28 October 2026.