Eglise Saint-Michel
ChurchHidden Treasure
Eglise Saint-Michel, located in Saint-Michel-de-Bannières (Département 46), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Church
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Saint-Michel-de-Bannières, Département 46, Occitanie
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 44.9755, 1.6880
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00095247
The Romanesque jewel of the Quercy region, Saint-Michel de Bannières combines a Byzantine dome, sculpted apses and medieval fortifications erected during the Hundred Years' Wars.
History
Nestling in the Lot, in a landscape of limestone plateaux and valleys that seem suspended in time, the church of Saint-Michel de Saint-Michel-de-Bannières is one of those discreet buildings that generously rewards the curious visitor. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1994, it bears twelve centuries of religious, architectural and military history, reading like a veritable stone book. What makes Saint-Michel truly unique is the legible superimposition of two radically different eras. The Romanesque heart of the building - choir, transept and apses - displays the calm, confident elegance of the 12th century: sculpted capitals on the columns of the apse, a cupola at the transept crossing inherited from influences in the Périgord and Quercy regions, apsidioles with cleverly differentiated floor plans. Then came the violence of the 15th century: machicolations, fortified bell tower, barlong defence tower to the north - all honourable scars that bear witness to the tenacity of rural communities in the face of the ravages of the Hundred Years' War. The visit is an intimate and contemplative experience. Inside, the eye travels from the sober Romanesque volumes to the traces of the eighteenth-century refurbishment of the choir, before stopping to admire the coloured stained glass windows installed in 1858 by L.-V. Gesta and J. Lacoste, which flood the nave with a warm and colourful light. The 15th-century Gothic chapel, flanked to the north, provides a striking stylistic counterpoint to the rest of the building. Saint-Michel-de-Bannières is a village in the Quercy Blanc region, between deep valleys and immense skies, where silence is disturbed only by the wind in the oak trees. The church, which gives its name to the village, is the cardinal monument, the one around which the collective memory of the place has been organised. An ideal stop-off for lovers of medieval architecture, the Quercy region and travellers in search of authenticity away from the crowds.
Architecture
Saint-Michel church is part of the great tradition of Quercy Romanesque architecture, of which it illustrates several distinctive features with remarkable consistency. The overall plan, organised around a transept crossing covered by a dome on pendentives, is reminiscent of the great 11th-12th century formulas for which Périgord and Quercy are famous. The bell tower, with its square Romanesque base, is crowned by an octagonal campanile that adds a touch of Italianate elegance to the silhouette of the building, a common feature of bell towers in the Lot. The three-sided main apse is adorned with columns whose capitals are sculpted with stylised plants, interlacing or historiated figures typical of the southern Romanesque repertoire. The north absidiole, circular in plan with colonnettes, and the south absidiole, circular in the lower part and then raised on canted sides, bear witness to careful spatial planning. The 15th-century fortifications superimpose machicolation brackets over the openings and the barlong tower to the north, built of limestone rubble in accordance with local defensive practices. Inside, the Gothic chapel flanking the nave to the north introduces the ribbing typical of late Southern Gothic, creating an enriching stylistic dialogue between the building's two great construction epochs.
Related Figures
L.-V. Gesta — maître verrier, auteur des vitraux posés en 1858J. Lacoste — maître verrier associé à Gesta pour les vitraux de 1858Seigneurs locaux du Quercy (XIIe siècle) — commanditaires supposés de l'édifice roman primitifCommunauté paroissiale de Saint-Michel-de-Bannières — actrice collective des fortifications du XVe siècle
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Eglise Saint-Michel located?
Eglise Saint-Michel is located in Saint-Michel-de-Bannières, Département 46 department, Occitanie region, France.
When was Eglise Saint-Michel built?
Eglise Saint-Michel dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Eglise Saint-Michel open to visitors?
Eglise Saint-Michel is currently closed to visitors.
