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Origin and history

The church of Saint Martin, located in Pioussay (formerly attached to Valdelaume), dates mainly from the 12th and 15th centuries. As early as the 12th century, it depended on the seigneury of Empuré and the Marquisate of Ruffec, in the election of Angoulême. His parish was under the administration of Boin. Close to the Romanesque building was a priory-secure of the order of Saint Augustin, attached to the abbey of Saint Severin. This ecclesiastical and seigneurial context underlines its local importance from the Middle Ages.

The church presents a rectangular plan reinforced with foothills, with a nave of four vaulted bays in a broken cradle, typical of Romanesque art. The capitals of the piles, also Romanesque, contrast with the Gothic choir, which is higher and has vaults on dogive crosses. A south side chapel, vaulted similar to the choir, completes the ensemble. The Gothic portal and the flamboyant bay of the bedside, pierced in the 15th century, illustrate the late additions. A campanile crowns the west façade, marking the stylistic evolution of the building.

Classified as a Historical Monument by decree of 13 June 1991, the Saint Martin church now belongs to the commune. Its hybrid architecture, combining Romanesque and flamboyant Gothic, bears witness to the religious and seigneurial transformations of the region, between Poitou and Charentes. The protected elements include the nave, the choir, and the southern chapel, reflecting its central role in local heritage.

The location of Pioussay (code Insee 79140), in the Deux-Sèvres, places the building in a territory marked by the influence of medieval abbeys and seigneuries. Geographical accuracy, noted as "a priori satisfactory" (level 6/10), would place the church near address 8 Rue des Écoles, although sources also mention Valdelaume, highlighting a possible toponymic or administrative evolution.

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