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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The cross of the cemetery of Anet is a funeral monument dating from the 3rd quarter of the 16th century, located in the commune of Anet, in Eure-et-Loir. It was classified by order of 10 January 1921. This doric-style stone column is surmounted by a wooden cross whose arms end with balls. The square base has a circular inscription: "Ne PLVS NE LESS / WELCOME LIVING AND MOURING IT IS ASSE / AND PARADIS TO THE TREPASSEZ". Another Latin sentence, "HIC QVI TE EXPECTANT NON CONFVNDANTVR" (Here, this hope will not be ashamed), is engraved on the drum of the column, to read from top to bottom and in the opposite direction of the hands of a watch.

The cross is decorated with ten Santiago shells, suggesting that Anet was a stage for pilgrims going to Santiago de Compostela. This monument reflects the religious and cultural importance of the city during the Renaissance, when Anet was marked by the presence of Diane de Poitiers, Henry II's favourite, and by the construction of the famous castle of Anet.

Anet, a town in the valley of the Eure, was a place of passage and residence for the kings of France, notably Philippe-Auguste, who stayed there in 1195. The cross of the cemetery, with its inscriptions and symbols, bears witness to the spirituality and beliefs of the time, while being part of the architectural and historical heritage of the commune, alongside the castle and the church Saint-Cyr-et-Sainte-Julitte, also classified as historical monuments.

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