These towering, jagged rock walls are astonishing, standing side by side as if in procession, like hooded penitents.
At the edge of the village of Les Mées, they stand there, mysterious, arousing curiosity.
In the 19th century, a writer included a fable in a collection of oral legends, presenting it as authentic.
It tells the story of monks petrified by Saint Donat, a hermit from Lure.
At the mere sight of seven Saracen prisoners, in a lascivious posture, being led out of the castle where they were held captive, the monks were about to commit the sin of lust beneath their robes.
To prevent them from falling into such depravity, Saint Donat turned them to stone...
The legend...
Captives of Count Raimbaux, who had destroyed the Saracen camp that was ravaging the region, spared the seven women belonging to the harem. Threatened with excommunication by the abbots of Paillerols, Count Raimbaud was forced to take his prisoners back to the banks of the Durance for immediate embarkation on a raft bound for Arles.
At the sight of these beautiful Moorish women, the monks, accustomed to abstinence, trembled; their curious glances from under their hoods became lustful. Aware of the danger threatening the monks, the great Saint Donat, from his hermitage, immediately petrified them in their robes to save them from imminent damnation.
In addition to these famous Penitents, Les Mées is home to a very interesting heritage.
First there is the Saint-Roch chapel, built on the foundations of a Roman building, then the churches of Saint-Blaise and Notre-Dame de l'Olivier.
Listed as historic monuments, Les Mées boasts a 16th-century gate, the Porte Saint-Christol, an 18th-century gate, and the Fontaine de la République fountain.
Among Les Mées' treasures, we mustn't forget the olive trees, the oil mills, the Olive Tree Museum, and the Pigeon Loft Ecomuseum.
Tourist Office
Boulevard de la République,
04190 Les Mées
Tel.: +33 (0)4 92 34 36 38
https://les-mees.fr/les-penitents/
Translated with DeepL.com
(free version)
