Saint Michel Church
13th century church built at the foot of the castle in Salon de Provence
At the centre of the town's activity, the Church of Saint-Michel opens on to a square crossed by one of the main roads.
The chevet faces east, in accordance with widespread practice; mass is celebrated facing Jerusalem [and the rising sun]. It features Provençal art with its arched bell tower, with much of the sculpted decoration in the Romanesque style.
Plain and solid in appearance, the church is brightened by the luminous warmth of the stone used for the main structure. From the same period, the sculpted tympanum which decorates the main door evokes the archangel St Michael crushing the forces of evil symbolised by the serpent.
The church was the subject of several successive building campaigns, going as far as the addition of a bell tower in the 15th century and it was used as a clock tower until the 17th century.
