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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The chapel of the Rosary of Parthenay, classified as a Historical Monument, initially depended on the fraternity of the Rosary, installed in the church of the Faubourg Saint-Paul. Built in the 15th century, it features a rectangular plan reinforced by buttress d'angles on the façade and at the bedside. Its south facade, pierced by a slightly broken hanger door, has stones engraved with crosses and motifs, reused from ancient tombs. Two crows in height suggest the past existence of a balcony now extinct.

Inside, a single nave, divided into four spans, was once to be covered with dogid vaults, now extinct. Traces of murals remain, including a 17th century scene adorning the bedside. Sold as a national property during the Revolution, the chapel was then inscribed in the Historical Monuments by order of 23 October 1992. It now belongs to the commune of Parthenay and is located at 74 rue du Faubourg, in the Deux-Sèvres department.

The building illustrates medieval religious architecture, with elements such as foothills and re-used tombstones, typical of the buildings of the period. Its history also reflects the upheavals of the Revolution, marked by the sale of ecclesiastical goods. The murals, though fragmentary, offer an overview of the local devotion and artistic practices of the seventeenth and fifteenth centuries.

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