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Origin and history

The chapel Saint-Hilarian-Sainte-Foy de Persia, located in Espalion, Aveyron, is a 11th century Romanesque religious building. It was mentioned in 1060 when Hugues de Calmont, his wife Foy and their son Bégon donated it to the Abbey of Conques. The site, then called alleu, includes a church dedicated to St Hilarian, a presbyteral fief and tithes. After this donation, the church is also known as Saint Foy, in connection with the donee abbey.

In 1312, the priory of Persia was united with that of Campagnac to provide for five monks, reduced to two a century later. The church served first as a parish church for Espalion, before losing this status in the 18th century. In 1524, Bishop Francis of Estaing proceeded to translate the relics of Saint Hilarian. After the secularization of the priory in 1537, the buildings deteriorated: declared massures in 1664, they were repaired in the sixteenth century.

Ranked a historic monument in 1862, the chapel was restored in 1902 by Henri Laffillé, who revealed coatings painted on the vaults of the transept. A second campaign in 1957, led by architect Dufour, removed other painted decorations. The building, oriented east-west, is distinguished by its western Romanesque portal with carved tympanum (representing Pentecost and the Last Judgment) and its bell tower-wall with four bays. Two portals, one novel and the other Gothic, pierce its south facade.

Inside, the three-span nave, separated from the choir by a triumphal arch, is surmounted by a polygonal bedside decorated with modillons. Two side chapels, added in the 15th century north side, complete the whole. Among the remarkable elements are a 12th century Virgin with Child, classified in 1908, and a 13th century fire on the facade. The chapel, located on a common section at via Podiensis and GR 6, overlooks the alluvial terrace of the Lot.

The western portal, protected by a modillon awning, presents three historiated voussures: the Celestial Court (angels with books), the archangels Gabriel and Raphael, and a crowned figure supposed to be the founder. The tympanum illustrates the Trinity, the Virgin and the Apostles at Pentecost, while the lintel depicts the Last Judgment, with a balance of souls, Christ in glory surrounded by the Tetramorph, and an infernal scene where Satan and demons torment the damned.

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