The selection committee, chaired by Stéphane Bern and involving the Heritage Foundation, the Ministry of Culture, and the FDJ, has selected this heritage as well as educational project, supported by a dynamic association.
The exceptional support provided by a portion of the Heritage Lottery* proceeds will accelerate the restoration process.
The subscription organized with the association “Les Ailes de Berre” and the Heritage Foundation is expected to significantly contribute to the success of the operation.
For a long time, the sails of the Berre-les-Alpes windmill have not turned…
The hope of one day seeing the revival of one of the last visible windmills in the Alpes-Maritimes emerged in 2014. The commune of Berre-les-Alpes then purchased the remnants of the building.
Dating back to the 15th century, the windmill is located on the main access road to the village. It is built on a small promontory around which cereal fields were once cultivated. Its sails have long since stopped turning, and today only the tower remains, in an astonishing state of preservation. The mill, forgotten over time, was often considered a dovecote and used as a grain store. The last traces of renovation date back to 1803.
Under the initiative of the association “Les Ailes de Berre,” chaired by Catherine Righes, a restoration project for the sails and mechanisms of the windmill has emerged. The goal? To one day produce flour, as in the Middle Ages!
