Ancienne maladrerie Saint-Lazare
MonumentHidden Treasure
Ancienne maladrerie Saint-Lazare, located in Tours (Indre-et-Loire), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Tours, Indre-et-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.3873, 0.6937
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098257
A discreet Romanesque vestige in the heart of Tours, the former maladrerie Saint-Lazare boasts capitals with palmettes of rare finesse, a moving testimony to the medieval care of lepers in Tours.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Nestling in the urban fabric of Tours, the former Saint-Lazare hospital is one of the most touching and least-known examples of Tours' Romanesque heritage. Founded at the end of the 11th century exclusively to house lepers born in Tours, this religious and hospitable institution brought faith and compassion together in one place, at a time when leprosy was ravaging the medieval population. Its church, modest in appearance, conceals behind modern walls a surprisingly rich architectural soul. What sets Saint-Lazare apart from the many Romanesque buildings in the Touraine region is precisely this striking contrast between the camouflaged exterior and the quality of the sculpted features that remain inside. The palmettes on the capitals and the fragments of arches adorned with sawtooth motifs bear witness to a remarkable level of craftsmanship, comparable to the finest examples of Romanesque sculpture in the Loire Valley. These decorations reveal that even a building dedicated to the outcasts of society deserved, in the eyes of its builders, the best of the art of their time. A visit to the former hospital is ideal for those with a passion for medieval architecture and social history. The experience is one of rediscovery: piercing through the veil of successive transformations to rediscover the original Romanesque nave, imagining the four barrel-vaulted bays and cul-de-four apse that structured the liturgical space for patients. The north aisle, added in the 12th century, bears witness to the growth of this marginal but organised community. The very setting of the building, integrated into the urban district of Tours, invites reflection on the stratification of the medieval city: the sick brigades were traditionally located at the gates of the cities, close to the ecclesiastical relief services but at the same time far from the able-bodied population. Saint-Lazare de Tours followed this logic of peripheral location, which has now been absorbed by modern urban expansion, reinforcing the sense of historical palimpsest that the site exudes.
Architecture
The church of the maladrerie Saint-Lazare is fully in keeping with the Touraine Romanesque tradition, characterised by the sobriety of its volumes and the quality of its ornamental sculpture. In its original state, the building had a simple longitudinal plan: a single nave of four bays covered by continuous barrel vaults, extended by a hemispherical apse in the shape of a cul-de-four - a shape that concentrated light on the altar and symbolised the celestial vault. The addition of a north aisle in the 12th century created a slight asymmetry, testifying to the organic growth of the complex and the adaptability of the medieval builders to the changing needs of the community. The exterior façades of the building have been masked over the centuries by more recent constructions, making the original Romanesque massing illegible from the public space. It is inside, therefore, that the true architectural wealth of the site is revealed. The palmettes capitals that remain in the nave bear witness to the mastery of stylised plant sculpture typical of the late 11th century in the Loire Valley, while the fragments of arches adorned with saw teeth - a zigzag motif of Norman influence - are a reminder of the artistic exchanges that permeated medieval Touraine. The quality of execution of these sculpted elements is considered remarkable by specialists, going beyond what might be expected of a simple hospital chapel.
Related Figures
Saint Lazare — patron des lépreux et des maladreries, dont le nom fut donné à l'institution en référence à la tradition évangéliqueAdministrateurs du chapitre cathédral de Tours — probables fondateurs ou co-fondateurs de la maladrerie à la fin du XIe siècleLouis XIV — dont la politique de rationalisation hospitalière aboutit à la réunion de la maladrerie à l'Hôtel-Dieu en 1698Inspecteurs des Monuments Historiques du XXe siècle — qui identifièrent et documentèrent la valeur patrimoniale de l'édifice menant à son inscription en 1987
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancienne maladrerie Saint-Lazare located?
Ancienne maladrerie Saint-Lazare is located in Tours, Indre-et-Loire department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Ancienne maladrerie Saint-Lazare built?
Ancienne maladrerie Saint-Lazare dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Ancienne maladrerie Saint-Lazare open to visitors?
Ancienne maladrerie Saint-Lazare is currently closed to visitors.