Parish Church of St. Martin de Villar d'Arène

Name: Parish Church of St. Martin de Villar d'Arène
Address: Place du village Villar d'Arène, Villar-d'Arêne, 05480
Telephone: 06 83 03 78 21
Price range: Free access.

Villar-d'Arêne

L'église Saint-Martin Villar d'Arène - © T.Poinas

In the center of the village of Villar-d'Arêne stands the Saint Martin of Tours Church, built between 1866 and 1870 with travertine rock from the Lautaret Pass.

Description

In Villar d’Arène, several churches have stood in succession. In the past, two major fires—in 1672 and 1771—made reconstruction necessary.
On Sunday, November 2, 1771, after Mass, a fire broke out amid strong winds, devastating 72 houses in less than a quarter of an hour… Even the church suffered severe damage despite its bell tower being covered with lead sheets. The entire village was rebuilt after a collection of wood was gathered in Monêtier-les-Bains and the small forest of Villar.

Rebuilt between 1866 and 1870, the church bears the characteristics of the Neo-Gothic style. Its bell tower, built of golden Lautaret tuff, with twin windows featuring semicircular arches and its pyramidions, resembles Lombard-style churches. Its vast proportions reflect the municipal ambition of the time and the faith of the wealthy emigrants who helped finance its construction. It was inaugurated on November 11, 1870, Saint Martin’s Day.

Closed since 1986, numerous stakeholders—the municipality, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, the department, the VMF Foundation, and donors—have rallied to restore it under the leadership and with the support of the Friends of Saint-Martin Church Association. The restoration of the Villar d’Arène church is now underway.

The porch, whose stained-glass windows were restored in 2017, hosts exhibitions during European Heritage Days (third weekend in September) and the Regional Heritage and Mills Days (third weekend in June).