L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

• The chapel of the White Penitents:

• Penitents are usually lay people who are determined to dedicate themselves publicly to Catholic worship, especially through prayer and charity. They wear an outfit of a specific color to which they owe their name. Grouped into a brotherhood, they are placed under the authority of the bishop. There were four brotherhoods of penitents at L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue: whites, blues, blacks and greens.
• White penitents have been present in L'Isle since the first half of the 16th century. First settled in the convent of Franciscans, located outside the walls, they return to the city during the transfer of the latter in 1562. Established soon after in the collegiate, they had a chapel that was destroyed during the construction of sextier. Their new chapel, built next door by the architect, islois Esprit-Joseph Brun, will have a very brief existence. Indeed, completed in 1778, it was sold to the Revolution.
• The reconstruction of the brotherhood under the Restoration necessitated the construction of a new chapel, completed before 1820. This neoclassical chapel, now private, still houses a beautiful ceiling in plaster decor. The architectural program developed is imbued with the traditions of the eighteenth century comtadin by its plan, its main facade and the decor of a large ceiling adorned with gypseries and staffs. Some elements of the ceiling and façade, however, reflect a new era in local creation.

• The Chapel of the Blue Penitents:

• Initially installed in the convent of Franciscans around 1565, the brotherhood of blue penitents of L'Isle decided to build a new chapel at the corner of Saint-Honoré and L'Arquet streets. Built between 1761 and 1768 by the architect l'islois Esprit-Joseph Brun - or by his brother Jean-Ange Brun - it is a major witness of the religious architecture of the second half of the 18th century. The chapel was sold to the Revolution and the brotherhood was dissolved. In the 19th century, the chapel welcomed the congregation of Men. It was secularized in the 1970s.
• Mistreated by unsightly renovations in the 1970s and 1980s, this chapel still has a remarkable classical sloping façade and much of its original gypserie ceiling. It is representative of the comtadins religious decorative arts of the mid-eighteenth century for its sobriety and the occasional use of high-relief motifs made of painted plaster (glory enhanced with cherubs, cartridges, etc.).

• The consul's tower and associated buildings:

• The islet of the Tour d'Argent concentrates all the history of the city. Indeed, it incorporates in its perimeter a juxtaposition of buildings representative of local civil architecture over a very wide period (twelfth-nineteenth centuries). Several archaeological studies have already revealed an exceptional set of buildings whose major element is constituted by a remarkable tower built by consuls of the city at the end of the twelfth century and covered with a magnificent Romanesque dome (classified as a Historic Monument in 2012). Other aristocratic medieval constructions (towers, fortified houses, logis, etc.) have been identified on this site. Among the most notable elements located around the tower are a residential building of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, a plastered ceiling decorated in the fifteenth century (listed as a Historic Monument in 2012), the body of a hotel building particular Gothic (Brancas-Villars hotel) and several constructions of the eighteenth century (Oiselay hotel).
• In the 17th century, an inn, called "La Tour d'Argent", settled in part of these buildings. From the end of the 19th century, this islet offers leisure spaces dear to the inhabitants, such as the Café de l'Avenir, an Italian theater transformed after the war in dancing (Lido) and cinema (Cinévog).

• The Notre-Dame-des-Anges Collegiate Church:

In 1212, the bishop of Cavaillon founded a collegiate church at L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue under the patronage of Notre-Dame-des-Anges, probably to thwart the powers of the consulate. There remains no trace of this building which was to be one of the first regional Gothic achievements.

• From the end of the 15th century, the chapter decided to rebuild the entire building. The construction begins with the eastern part of the church and adopts a southern Gothic style, popular in the comtadine region since the 14th century: low bedside, polygonal plan with radiating buttresses, and a powerful side tower. It was completed around 1538 and marks a stylistic evolution from the flamboyant Gothic to the Renaissance style.
• The greater part of the nave was rebuilt between 1645 and 1675 on the plans of the Avignon architect, François Royers de la Valfenière. The austere exterior architecture, influenced by the Jesuit style, contrasts with the ostentation of its interior decorations. The broad vaulted nave is bordered on each side by a network of six lateral chapels, surmounted by circulation galleries protected by balustrades. This plan is particularly adapted to the religiosity of this period of Catholic Counter-Reformation: a large nave for the reception of the faithful and preaching, as well as chapels confined to house brotherhoods. Many artists from the region, such as Mignard, Vial, Péru or Parrocel, participated in the quality and abundance of the decoration of the building.

• The charity :

• The House of Charity was intended to provide a refuge for beggars not only to house, feed and maintain them, but also to fight against robberies and to free them from their condition by teaching them a job. At the end of the seventeenth century, the city entrusts the plans of Charity to the Avignon architect, Pierre Mignard. He has to build a vast four-building building with two large courtyards on the site of a house and a field bequeathed by Jean de Favier, Knight of the Order of the Pope and man-at-arms of the Count of Suze. The realization of this ambitious project begins in 1681, but is limited to a single wing implanted perpendicular to the street. In 1766, the initial project was simplified by the architect Jean-Ange Brun islois who raises a new building on the edge of the Sorgue. The neo-Romanesque chapel, built around 1850 in a courtyard by the departmental architect Joffroy, marks the completion of the works.
• In 1758, Charité hosted 126 boarders (including 72 children), placed in local factories. From the end of the 18th century to the end of the following century, the hospital sisters ensured the management of the establishment. Charity was decommissioned in 1910.

• The Campredon art center:

• At L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, many aristocratic mansions were built or remodeled between 1690 and 1780, according to the tastes of the time (hotels in Palermo, Ganges, Ricci, Clermont-Lodève, etc.).
• The Donadeï hotel in Campredon was built in the second half of the 18th century for Charles Joseph de Campredon, from a large family of landowners, present in L'Isle since the 14th century. The project was designed by the architect l'islois, Esprit-Joseph Brun, who designed a mansion on an "L" plan, with a remarkable facade on the main street. The two interior facades were elaborated in a simpler way to give more amplitude to a garden magnified by three fountains or nymphs.
• The entry vestibule opens onto a large staircase with three suspended flights, with wrought iron railing, allowing access to the adjoining rooms on the first floor, decorated with simple gypseries.
• The Campredon hotel, acquired by the city of L'Isle in 1978, is listed in the supplementary inventory of Historic Monuments. It hosts an art center since 1984.

• The Hotel-Dieu

• At the end of the 14th century, the different hospitals of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue were reunited at the Old Hospital or the Franciscans. In 1685, he was transferred to a place with a house with a garden sold by an aristocrat, Monsieur de Vaucluse, and a garden and small house bought from one of the rectors of the hospital, Laurent Autier. Despite a first enlargement decided in 1713, the space of this Hôtel-Dieu, which had been entrusted from before its construction to the sisters of the congregation of Saint-Joseph, quickly became insufficient. In the 1740s, the plans for the new hospital were given to Jean-Baptiste Franque, supported by local entrepreneur Esprit Brun and his sons, Jean-Ange and Esprit-Joseph, both architects. The completion of the works took place in 1781-1782 with the decoration of the chapel.
• The entrance courtyard is accessible by a remarkable gate dated 1762 and surmounted by an ironwork bearing the arms of the abbot of Sade, benefactor of the establishment. The building develops on four wings according to a plan in "h". It is on the ground floor that are located the most notable parts of the hospital: the entrance hall and its majestic staircase, the pharmacy and the chapel, abundantly decorated with Louis XVI style gypseries. Ancient pleasure and sustenance gardens surround buildings classified or listed as Historic Monuments. The west garden has a monumental fountain - or nymphaeum -, designed by Jean-Ange Brun in 1768.
• Hôtel-Dieu, which had several extensions in the 19th and 20th centuries, is today the local hospital of L'Isle. The southern wing that housed the nuns was associated with the community garden. This place and its premises, called "the Congregation", are currently assigned to the Directorate of Heritage of the City.

• The castle Char:

• Emile Char, industrialist and mayor of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, had a large bourgeois house built in 1894 in the neighborhood of the Nevons. This vast house, eclectic style characteristic of the late nineteenth century, was once surrounded by a large park. We find this architecture of "captain of industry" in other "castles" on the outskirts of the city center (those of Dumas, Saint-Hubert, Reboul, Giraud).
• The family home of the Neves, the Sorgue and the neighborhoods of L'Isle rocked the childhood of the poet René Char (1907-1990). He shared his life between his hometown and Paris where his adherence to the surrealist movement propelled him into the circle of Parisian writers. The Second World War kept him in the region and he entered the resistance under the pseudonym of "Captain Alexander" in Céreste. He wrote during those years Alone and the Leaflets of Hypnos, published once peace returned.
• Not without regret, the Char sold the "castle" of the Nevis in 1955 and a city council took the place of the park, inspiring René Char his poem "Mourning of the Névons".

• The Brun Manufacture of Vian-Tiran:

• The textile industry has been a specialty of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue since the Middle Ages. Big families got involved and helped build the identity of the city. This industry continues to live today, supported by the Brun de Vian-Tiran factory. The adventure began in 1808 when Charles Tiran and his son-in-law, Laurent Vian, set up their fuller mill on the Sorgue. In 1879, after his marriage with the heiress Vian-Tiran, Emile Brun took over the activities of the factory and attached his surname, which gives it its current name: Brun de Vian-Tiran.
• The same family has passed on the company for eight generations, each bringing his genius to the wool arts to enrich the know-how and perpetuate the activity. The company Brun de Vian-Tiran is not only a family history of industrialists, but also that of spinners, weavers, groomers and upholsterers who have worked on their trades, a story in which women played a valuable role.
• The production of the Brun de Vian-Tiran factory extends to noble fibers: cashmere, camel, alpaca, mohair, silk... It is based on modern technology, but remains deeply attached to the most respectful woolen tradition.

• Industrial heritage:

• Since time immemorial, the waters of the Sorgue, abundant and regular, provided the driving force necessary for the craft and the industry. The paddle wheels had allowed the installation of wheat mills from the twelfth century, then the creation of workshops to treat wool and silk.
• The picturesque wheels that still exist today to give L'Isle its distinctive character, are a testament to the sixty-two that were counted in the nineteenth century and the intense activity that reigned then: While silk generated new fortunes L'Isle became the main wool center of the department.

The international fair Antiques and Brocante the weekend of Easter.

The festival of painters and sculptors every 2nd Saturday of every month from May to September, on the esplanade Robert Vasse. Information: email: atelier-enprovence@hotmail.fr

The floating market of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue takes place every year on the first Sunday of August, at the same time as the very famous Sunday market. It takes place on the Sorgue in front of the public garden and starts around 9am and ends around 12:30. Nego-Chin, typical boats with flat bottom, slide from one shore to another at the call of the public, and offer in their eyes a farandole of colors and scents (local products such as fruits and vegetables, bouquets of flowers, cheese, wine, bread...). You can do your shopping and enjoy, in addition, traditional Provencal costumes, music and commentary alive and singing. But for that, you have to arrive early because access is very difficult! When the floating market comes to an end, the Nego-Chin meet online as well as all the participants of the traditional market, and together they sing the famous Coupo Santo which celebrates Provence.

• From 15 to 18 august 2024
• 74 Avenue de la Libération, Avenue des Quatre Otages, Foire Internationale Antiquités et Brocante, Parc Gautier
• L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Europe's 3rd-largest antiques and secondhand goods market, welcomes bargain hunters from all over the world to its two annual fairs.

Golf 18 holes in Saumane-de-Vaucluse.

Descent of the river, the Sorgue, canoeing (about 2 hours) from April to September.

Villa Datris, Campredon, art center.