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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Church of Notre-Dame de Rioux, built in the second half of the 12th century (circa 1160), is inspired by the Church of Saint Eutrope de Saintes, consecrated in 1096. Built on the foundations of an earlier sanctuary whose traces remain in the foremost heart, it illustrates the Saintongese Romanesque style with its seven-sided apse and adorned facade. The nave, the western gate and the apse date from this period, while the southern side chapel, with its portal, is added in the same half century. Originally, a bell tower overcame the fourth span of the nave, as evidenced by the columns attached to the pilasters still visible.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the church underwent major changes: the northern lateral chapels (former seigneurial chapels) and the northern outer gate were built at the end of the 15th century by the Baron of Rioux. The western gable is pierced by an oculus and surmounted by a square bell tower with the ground windows, while a bell of 1583 was replaced in 1867. The nave, originally carpented, was vaulted in a low cradle in 1860. The furniture includes a 16th century carved group representing the Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine, probably commissioned by François de Beaumont to celebrate his union with Catherine de Souza-Bragance.

The church is distinguished by its exceptional sculptural decoration, especially on the western facade and bedside. The facade, from the third quarter of the 12th century, presents a four-piece portal decorated with geometric and vegetal motifs, topped by a figurative patterned archature evoking capital sins. The bedside, with seven panels separated by "telescopic" columns, unfolds a complex stereotomical decor (zigzags, scales, daguerites) and an archature superior to atypical models, mixing monstrous representations and "peaceful" human heads, perhaps self-portraits of sculptors. These elements illustrate the climax of the 12th century Aquitaine school.

Ranked a historic monument since 22 May 1903, the church also houses traces of lapidary signs (XIIIth–XIVth centuries), including canonial dials and a horsemen's graffiti, as well as a remodeled ossuary in the 16th century, discovered in 1939 under the southern chapel. This ossuary could be linked to a missing crypt, once a place of pilgrimage to St.Venant, murmured in 1787. The stained glass windows, dating back to 1897 (northern chapel) and 1973 (rest of the church), complete this heritage.

The furniture also includes a Louis XV armchair in the choir, a Regency dresser (1994), and shell beaniers. Historic capitals, such as the one representing a character engulfing a snake or a bicorporated lion, highlight the influence of local novel workshops. The ensemble reflects both medieval piety, exceptional craftsmanship and the transformations associated with later times.

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