Ancienne église Saint-Pierre

English translation

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History

This church is the only remaining part of the important Cluniac priory of Saint-Pierre. It was rebuilt between 1779 and 1784 with materials from the pre-existing building and reveals certain elements that allow the 12th-century edifice to be reconstructed. The latter must have presented a single nave vaulted in broken barrel vault, interrupted by transverse arches, themselves supported by pilasters forming pillars and chapels vaulted in transverse barrel vaults which serve as buttresses to the central barrel vault. The 12th-century choir is not known because it apparently collapsed into the Rhône during the 13th century, which necessitated a reconstruction at the beginning of the 14th century, of which a certain number of elements were preserved (polygonal choir; one of the two towers built at that time and serving as a bell tower, heightened at the end of the 18th century). The priory, pillaged by the Routiers and devastated during the Wars of Religion, was rebuilt only in 1779. Its plan in Greek cross prolonged by a fairly substantial choir largely respects the old foundations. Inside, the ribs of the apse and dome contrast with the Greek cross with flattened rib vault and central medallion.