Lavaré

The arch is composed of two archivolts resting on four columns. The reddish-brown archstones and columns

are made of "roussard" sandstone. What looks like a lintel, just above the arch was part of a lean-to roof

supported by wooden beams

The church of Saint-Pierre dates back to the 11th century. The half-domed apse, the narrow, splayed windows and the doorway have not changed. However, the tower, the roof frame and the painted wooden ceiling were rebuilt in the 16th century. The ground plan was also altered with the addition of a chapel adjoining the chancel.

MURAL PAINTINGS:

northern wall of the nave

If nowadays a sudden death is sometimes considered as a "peaceful death", for our ancestors it was the worst possible way of dying. Unable to repent their sins and receive the Last Rites, those who died suddenly were doomed to Hell and could not be buried in consecrated ground. This is why, in many churches, Saint Christopher was represented larger than life, most of the time in the form of a mural painting on the northern wall of the nave. You probably remember that, according to legend, Saint Christopher was a giant who wished to serve the greatest king on earth and finished by being converted to Chritianity by a hermit. The hermit told him to live by a deep and dangerous river. Thanks to his huge stature he would be able to carry travellers and pilgrims across the river. One night, a child asked him to be carried across. Halfway across the river, the child seemed to become heavier and heavier, the current stronger and stronger and even with his tree-staff Saint Christopher could only just manage to reach the opposite bank. The child - he was the Christ-Child - explained to him that the burden he had just carried was the weight of the whole world and its creator. He told him to plant the staff in the ground and the next morning it had bloomed and bore dates.