Bonnieux is perched across from the village of Lacoste.. Crowned with the high pointed steeple of a 12th century Gothic/Romanesque church, the village has enjoyed a long association with the leaders of the Catholic church, as a Templar Commanderie in the early Middle Ages, followed by several centuries as a papal village in the Comtat Venaissin.
Bonnieux has been inhabited since the Bronze Age and was an important village on the Roman road from Cadiz to Milan. In the Middle Ages the village was rebuilt on the nearby Celto-Ligurian oppidum, and surrounded by ramparts, of which there remain important vestiges. Following the crusade albigeois, the town became a pontifical land and remained part of the Comtat Venaissin until 1791 enjoying privileges granted by the Count of Toulouse Raimond in 1247.
In the 12th century, the Templiers built the Chapel St Sauveur, which forms the Romanesque part of the upper church and Bonnieux was a commanderie of the Templars until 1312. The château belonged to the powerful family of Agoult who also built the fortifications of the village.During the Renaissance the village of Bonnieux was the summer residence of several high ranking bishops, leaving behind the traces of some illustrious architecture.
SITES
-At the top of the village, stands the 12th century, Roman/Gothic 'Vieille Eglise'. Near the bottom is the much newer (1870) New Church ('Eglise Neuve') - built for the convenience of the inhabitants in the 19th century.
-Superb residences dating back to the 16th, 17th, and 18th century, notably the Hotel de Rouville (town hall) and the Musée de la Boulangerie, which serve as a reminder that Bonnieux was a wealthy village in a papal enclave, where several bishops chose to live.
-The Jardin de la Louve, a highly sculpted garden of plants from the region was created by Nicole de Vésian, a stylist at Hermès, who in 1986 bought a house in Bonnieux. Open to the public: reservation required.
-The Église Louise Bourgeois. The French-American artist, transformed the traditional features of a church in her own inimitable style. Open to visitors in midsummer only.
Market
-The weekly farmers' market in Bonnieux is on Friday and there is a popular pottery market each year during Easter weekend.
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