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Origin and history

The Church of Saint Sylvestre in Jailly, built in the 12th century in Nièvre, is a remarkable example of Romanesque architecture. Ranked a historic monument since 1840 thanks to the intervention of Prosper Mérimée, it is distinguished by its structure in steps adapted to the slope of the terrain. Its pentagonal bedside, apsidioles and octagonal bell tower open with geminied berries illustrate the mastery of medieval builders. A local legend attributes its unfinished construction to fairies, unable to finish the work before midnight.

Originally, the church belonged to a clunisian priory founded around 1050, whose monks received land from the commune. The works, which began in the 11th century, sank until the 12th century, but the monastery declined from the late Middle Ages. The Clunisian visits of the 14th and 15th centuries describe a "low value" place, with ruined buildings and degraded liturgical furniture. In 1470, only the prior remained there. The following centuries worsened the deterioration: in 1773, parish priest Jean-Baptiste Laproye alerted the critical state of the building, threatened with collapse.

The Revolution marked a turning point: the church, which had become a national church, was bought by the parish priest Lapraye, who bequeathed it to the commune at his death. Priorial buildings were destroyed around 1833. Several restoration campaigns, including in 1858-1859 and 1887-1889, saved the building. The nave, partially rebuilt, retains a trapezoidal span due to a defect in alignment. The portal, adorned with Romanesque sculptures (animals faced, masks, interlaces), was restored in 1887 after a first intervention by Mérimée in 1835.

Inside reveals a Benedictine choir with two vaulted bays in cradle, flanked by shallow absidioles. The cross of the transept, surmounted by an octagonal dome on trunks, supports a bell tower inspired by those of Cluny or La Charité-sur-Loire. The capitals, sometimes naïve decoration (volutes, saw teeth, stylized leaves), contrast with the sobriety of elevations. A bronze bell of 1567, classified as a historical monument in 1943, bears witness to the preserved furniture heritage.

Local folklore, collected by Paul Séblot, evokes fairies who built the church in one night, without being able to finish it before dawn. This legend, taken over by the architect Massillon Rouvet in 1876, explains the unfinished state of the facade. According to tradition, subsequent attempts at reparations mysteriously failed. Today, the church, opened in the summer, dominates the Canne Valley and remains a symbol of the rural heritage of Nunavut.

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