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Saint-Pierre de la Val de Chauvet church is mentioned as early as 1096 in a charter from Montmajour abbey, to which the bishop of Riez donated it.
It’s not the one that stands here today, but to understand the purpose of the latter, it’s necessary to know the history of the former.
This first religious edifice, of which nothing remains today, was located below and to the west of the hamlet of Périer where you now stand, on the right bank of the Bau ravine, near a small “Sant-Peire” bridge.
This was an important communication route, linking Châteauneuf-lès-Moustiers to Saint-Jurs, on the edge of the Valensole plateau. A “hospitalité” (a kind of inn in the Middle Ages) was a byword for the main road. There was indeed one here, as was often the case with religious establishments. It lasted until at least the 14th century.
When the settlement redeveloped between the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the population of the hamlets of Périer, Brochiers, Louches, Bondils and Paluds had a church built for their use. They naturally placed it under the protection of Saint Peter, whose sanctuary no longer existed.
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