Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

water gap A water gap is a gap that flowing water has carved through a mountain range or mountain ridge and that still carries water today. Such gaps that no longer carry water currents are called wind gaps. Water gaps and wind gaps often offer a pract ...

Durance The Durance (; ''Durença'' in the Occitan classical norm or ''Durènço'' in the Mistralian norm) is a major river in Southeastern France. A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long. Its drainage basin is .Rhone) in the limestone plateau that since the Middle Ages has been called the plateau of Saint-Sépulcre. The water gap of Mirabeau is used as a crossing the Durance, which for most of its length is wide and rapid. The village is situated between the communes of

Pertuis Pertuis (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in Vaucluse, a Departments of France, department in the southeastern Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, south of the Luberon. Pertuis has existed since at least 981, and a castle was first b ...

and

Manosque Manosque (; Provençal Occitan: ''Manòsca'' in classical norm or ''Manosco'' in Mistralian norm) is the largest town and commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. However, it is not the ''préfecture'' (capital ...

at a place where four departments meet:

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.

,

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...

,

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (sometimes abbreviated as AHP; ; ; ), formerly until 1970 known as Basses-Alpes (, ), is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the sou ...

and Var. It is on Route Départementale 973. Mirabeau village is in the Luberon Massif and is one of the 77 members of the parc naturel régional du Luberon.

Seismicity

The cantons of

Bonnieux Bonnieux (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,206. In the plain below the vil ...

,

Apt, Vaucluse Apt (; Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''At / Ate'' in both classical and Mistralian norms) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of ...

,

Cadenet Cadenet () is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Geography Cadenet is a village located on the southern slopes of the Luberon Massif, overlooking the valley of the Durance. It ...

,

Cavaillon Cavaillon (; ) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France.

, and

Pertuis Pertuis (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in Vaucluse, a Departments of France, department in the southeastern Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, south of the Luberon. Pertuis has existed since at least 981, and a castle was first b ...

are classified as Zone Ib (weak risk). All the other cantons in the department of Vaucluse are classified as Zone Ia (very weak risk).

Seismicity Seismicity is a measure encompassing earthquake occurrences, mechanisms, and magnitude at a given geographical location. As such, it summarizes a region's seismic activity. The term was coined by Beno Gutenberg and Charles Francis Richter in 194 ...

in these zones only exceptionally causes the destruction of buildings. Since April 2018 the castle is closed for public visitors, due to the risk.

Land use

The following table shows how the land area is allocated for different purposes: The natural areas consist principally of the Mediterranean forests covering the Petit

Luberon The Luberon ( or ; Provençal dialect, Provençal: ''Leberon'' or ''Leberoun'' ) is a massif in central Provence in Southern France, part of the French Prealps. It has a maximum elevation of and an area of about . It is composed of three mounta ...

. The agricultural areas are mainly orchards (olive trees, almond trees), lavender fields, vineyards (

Appellation d'origine contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...

(AOC) Côtes du Luberon).

Climate

The commune has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

. Summers are hot and dry and there are sometimes storms. Winters are mild. Precipitation is infrequent and snow is rare. Protected by the

Luberon The Luberon ( or ; Provençal dialect, Provençal: ''Leberon'' or ''Leberoun'' ) is a massif in central Provence in Southern France, part of the French Prealps. It has a maximum elevation of and an area of about . It is composed of three mounta ...

Massif, the commune is partially sheltered from the mistral wind.

Name

Mirabeau (in

Provençal Provençal may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Provence, a region of France ** Provençal dialect, a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the southeast of France ** ''Provençal'', meaning the whole Occitan language * Provenca ...

''Mirabèu'') comes from ''mirar'' (to see) and ''bel'' (beautiful). In the 12th century, Mirabel or Mirabellum meant an elevated place from where you can see a long way.

History

Prehistory and antiquity

On the Saint-Sépulcre plateau the first traces of human occupation date from the

La Tène culture The La Tène culture (; ) was a Iron Age Europe, European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman Republic, Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age ...

in about 500 BCE. According to specialists, this defensive site, which has not been fully investigated, may hide other archaeological remains. The Gallo-Roman period is represented by a pottery kiln found at a place called Le Moulin (the mill). It would have provided Gallic

amphora An amphora (; ; English ) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storage rooms and packages, tied together with rope and delivered by land ...

s and dolia to the villa near the Ferme de l’Étang where

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

s have been found.

Middle Ages

The first

castrum ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

was built at the beginning of the 12th century. It was in existence when a

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

of

Pope Gelasius II Pope Gelasius II (c. 1060/1064 – 29 January 1119), born Giovanni Caetani or Giovanni da Gaeta (also called ''Coniulo''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 January 1118 to his death in 1119. A monk of Monte C ...

in 1199 confirmed Mirabel as a possession of the abbey Saint-André de Villeneuve-lès-Avignon. Fifty years later, a bull of

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...

renewed the rights of the Benedictines of Mont Andaon over Mirabello, with obligation to serve the priory consecrated to the Beate Mariae Magdalena de Ponte Cantus Pernicis. In 1189, the Hospitaliers du Pont de Bonpas, in order to control the passage by ferry over the Durance river in the gorge of Mirabeau built a house near the chapel dedicated to La Magdaleine. This chapel of Cante Perdrix, one of the oldest priories in Provence dedicated to La Magdaleine, became the place of worship of a guild of ferrymen on the Durance. Its façade still bears an inscription on the subject of a solar eclipse in the 13th century.

Geography