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Origin and history

La Chapelle Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Vénéjan is a Romanesque building located in the Gard department in the Occitanie region. Its foundations date back to the 11th century, but its main building was built between the 12th and 17th centuries. Initially a castral chapel, it became parishioner in the 13th century before being abandoned in the 17th century for a new church. Its architecture combines a primitive Romanesque nave, Gothic additions (14th century), and a lateral chapel dedicated to the Virgin (17th century). The west façade, pierced by a curved door and surmounted by a bell tower-wall, contrasts with the high parts reworked in irregular bellows.

The chapel was mentioned in 1620 as Priory Sainct-Jean de Venejant. It is part of the history of the Venetian castrum, born in the 11th century on the Gallo-Roman oppidum of Lombrun, abandoned in the 5th century. The village, named Castrum de Venejano in 1121, was dependent on Roquemaure (diocese of Uzes). The chapel, at the collation of the bishop of Uzes, was modified after the wars of Religion, with side vaulted chapels and a gallery added to the west.

Abandoned at the end of the seventeenth century, the chapel fell into oblivion until it was rediscovered in 1860 by historian Léon Alègre. In 1969, a safeguard committee, led by Louis Brun and volunteers, launched its restoration over more than twenty years: clearing, roof consolidation, tile laying, and softwood planting. Listed in the inventory of historical monuments in 1986, it then reveals 14th century murals, including a Christ in majesty and a Wheel of Fortune, perhaps commissioned by Cardinal Napoleon Orsini, Lord of Venezuela.

The site also includes the remains of a 10th century dungeon, the base of a watchtower protecting the village, and a former parish cemetery disused around 1860. Tombstones of local lords, exposed to the east of the abside, testify to his feudal past. The chapel, a communal property, is today a remarkable example of restored medieval religious architecture, combining Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque elements.

The murals, dated about 1320–30, adorn the cul-de-four vault of the abside and the triumphal arch. They combine religious (blessing Christ, apostles) and decorative (geometrics, plants). The right side chapel, added in the 13th century by the local lord, and the left chapel (17th century) form a false transept. The roman bedside, in regular honeymoons, is surmounted by orange tiles, typical of the region.

Rediscovered in 1986, the chapel has since benefited from subsidies for its preservation. The 1990s saw the completion of its interior (dalles, balusters, stained glass) and exterior restoration. Its bell tower-wall, harped facade, and bolt holes recall medieval techniques. The Safeguard Committee, made up of volunteers and Scouts, played a key role in its survival, turning a building into a ruins into an accessible heritage.

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