Eglise Sainte-Pezenne

English translation

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History

Church of the early 12th century. The nave is vaulted with ribs in the 15th century. Alterations in the 17th and 18th centuries (partial reconstruction of the bell tower, refection of the north wall of the nave). In 1806-1807, construction of the sacristy against the chevet of the church. In 1814, reconstruction of the south angle of the façade and the gable of the chevet. In 1843, reduction of the south chapel. The building comprises a square porch tower, a single nave with lateral arcades delimited by interior buttresses, two rectangular chapels and a choir with two bays of which the flat chevet is hollowed out inside by a semicircular apse. The western façade presents a round arch portal moulded with a twisted bead and a cavet resting on two columns with foliated capitals. Inside, the porch tower is vaulted with an archaic cupola. The triumphal arch, pointed, rests on pillars with three columns furnished with Romanesque capitals blending beaded ribbons, acanthus leaves and crockets. This church is the oldest in Niort, and preserves from the Romanesque period a choir of archaic structure. Its Romanesque porch tower is a rare type in the region.