What is Mérindol?
{{Infobox French commune |name = Mérindol |image = Merindol 2 by JM Rosier.jpg |caption = Town hall and church in Mérindol |image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Mérindol (Vaucluse).svg |arrondissement = Apt |canton = [[Canton of Cadenet|Cadenet]] |INSEE = 84074 |postal code = 84360 |mayor = Philippe Batoux |term = 2008–2014 |intercommunality = Provence Luberon Durance |coordinates = {{coord|43.7566666667|5.20388888889|format=dms|display=inline,title}} |elevation m = 168 |elevation min m = 100 |elevation max m = 620 |area km2 = 26.59 |population = 1923 |population date = 2006 }} '''Mérindol''' is a [[Communes of France|commune]] of 1,923 people (2006). It is in the region [[Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur]] in the [[Vaucluse]] department in the south of [[France]]. The town has a Mediterranean climate with hot and dry summers and mild winters. It does not rain very often and snow is rare. Protected by the Luberon, a mountain range, the town is sheltered from the [[mistral]], a cold dry wind that blows from the north. The town was first built on a hill which was easy to defend. After the town was destroyed in 1545, it was rebuilt on the plain, near the river. ==History== A ferry was in use to cross the [[Durance]] River in the year 1240. Mérindol was abandoned, probably because of [[plague]], in the [[15th century]]. In the late Middle Ages, Louis II of Provence sold the land to the lords of Abacus-Cental and Rocca Sparviera. They moved in farming families from [[Piedmont]]. The farmers were followers of Pierre Vaudes (Peter Waldo). They were part of a group, known as the Vaudois or Waldensians, who had separated from the Catholic Church in 1170. They believed in a simple life based on a line in the [[Gospel of Matthew]]. This put them in opposition to the rich and powerful church. In 1530, a [[Dominican Order|Domini