Église Saint-Genest

English translation

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History

Church of the 12th century, surrounded by a cemetery until 1790. The main door is round-arched with columns and three rows of archivolts. The west and east faces are adorned with a row of mascarons or emblems. On the north-east corner is found a turret with a simple oculus, communicating with the roof space and which must formerly have served as a lookout since it contains no staircase. Above the oculus is found an escutcheon on which is engraved in relief a serpent biting its tail. The present bell tower was built in 1816, the old bell tower having been struck by lightning. The interior shows its plan in Latin cross. The vaults are round-arched or obtuse rib vault. The two pillars at the centre of the nave are the only ones whose capitals recall the Corinthian style. The apse terminates in a groin vault with crossed ribs. The transept is surmounted by a hemispherical dome and each of the two eastern returns forms a chapel. This church may perhaps have previously depended on a Benedictine abbey whose memory has been preserved by tradition. Supposing this church to have been built by the Benedictines and following their custom, the two chapels were to be only the starting point of an ambulatory surrounding the choir and intended to isolate them from the rest of the faithful.