L'Escale

L'Escale

When the Durance river was still navigable, l'Escale was considered as an important river port in the Gallo-Roman period.

The Bourguet site, located at 1km from the north of the village was at the time a major centre of residence.

The excavations carried out in 1960-1961 before the flooding under the waters of the Château-Arnoux lake enabled to discover the most important series of bronzes (statuettes and busts) in Haute-Provence.

Then, in the Middle Ages, the village expanded on the hillside of Vière and on the "Hamlet of The Landlord" ("Hameau de l'Hôte").

It became an inevitable busy area between Sisteron and Digne and gave birth to little hamlets closer to agriculture reality. The ornithology fanatics can watch about 200 bird species on the lake banks.

In the centre, Notre-Dame de Mandanoïs' Church built in 1854 houses typical paintings from the 19th century iconography as well as a cubic altar and a paleochristian low relief from the former Romanesque chapel of Sainte-Consorce (demolished in 1962).

The area of Coulayès and the ruins of Vière are the starting point for nice walks.

To the south of the village, the dovecot from the middle of the 19th century was recently restored thanks to the association "Alpes de Lumière".

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Tourist Office and Mountain Bike Centre of Val de Durance
Ferme de Font Robert - Avenue de la Bastide - 04160 Château-Arnoux
Tél. 04 92 64 02 64 - Fax : 04 92 64 54 55
E-mail : tourisme@la-moyenne-durance.fr
Open from June to September from Monday to Saturday: 9.30am-12.30am and 2.30pm-6.30pm.
In July and August, open on Sunday from 9.30 am to 1 pm.
Open from October to May from Monday to Friday: from 9 am to 12 am and from 2 pm to 6 pm.
Open on weekend for mountain bike rentals on request.