Cairanne is a lovely old
village set in the heart of the wine country. It is on the D8 road
crossing the broad Aigues river valley, northeast of Orange and
west of Vaison-la-Romaine.
The centre of the new village is low and open, lighted by the
Provencal sun. The long school building, neat little shops and
the old and new Mairies are pretty and tasteful, giving the village
a "local" feel that isn't at all touristy.
The old village sits on a low hilltop that commands a magnificent
view out across the broad landscape of fields and vineyards,
with views of other tiny villages scattered out in the distance.
The old village is beautifully restored, keeping the feeling
of when the Knights Hospitalers lived here in the 12th century..
The Chapelle St. Roch is built into the old wall - which is all
that now reamins of the Knights Hospitalers - beside the Porte
d'Autanne, It was constructed in the 18th century.
On the northwest side of the old village, opposite the Chapelle
St. Roch, 17th-century chapel Notre-Dame des Exés is built
outside ("exés") the walls. People catching
the plague (La Peste) were placed here in an attempt to prevent
contaminating the rest of the population.
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