Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The chapel of Petit-Saint-Martin, located in the Old Towers between the Loire and the Basilica of Saint Martin, was rebuilt in the 14th century, probably at the site of an oratory marking a stop of the body of Saint Martin when it was transferred to its burial in 397. This place of worship, erected around 1380 by the frairie of Saint-Martin under the authority of the abbey of Saint-Julien, reuses the wall of an earlier building, becoming the north dropper wall of the new construction. The nave, divided into three spans, ends with a flat bedside in the east.

In 1795, the chapel was sold as a national property after the French Revolution and converted into a private dwelling. Its architecture then undergoes major changes: two floors divide the space into three levels, while the ground floor is split into two naves by central pillars. Despite these transformations, it retains medieval elements, such as arches highlighting spans, which are witnesses of its original structure.

Ranked a historic monument in 1976, the chapel was restored in 1977, then in 1982 for its staircase access to the crypt, initially straight and rebuilt into screws. Since then, it has housed an annex to the École supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Tours, marking its transition from a place of worship to a space dedicated to artistic teaching. Its history reflects the religious, political and urban upheavals of Tours, from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era.

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