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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Saint-Jean-des-Vignes chapel of Saint-Plancard, listed as a historic monument in 1946, is a rare example of Romanesque double apse architecture, with a nave ending with two opposite hemicycles. Built in the 12th century on the foundations of a Paleo-Christian church itself erected on a pagan temple, it retains re-used Gallo-Roman elements: votive altars, funeral cippes, statues and sarcophagus. Its unusual plan, completed once by a transept and two apsidioles (one of which disappeared), reflects a regional adaptation of mountain chapels.

The excavations carried out in 1945 by Abbé Ajustro, Abbé Laffargue and archaeologist Georges Fouet revealed Romanesque paintings from the 11th and 12th centuries, partially restored in the 1950s and 1964s. These frescoes, rediscovered under a coating, as well as Gallo-Roman remains (including offerings to the god Sutugius, assimilated to Mars), attest to the superposition of cults on this site. The chapel, located on an axis of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, also housed Roman funerary objects exposed in situ, such as cinematic urns and stele fragments.

The building, a communal property, is now closed due to the degraded state of its roof. His archaeological history has been documented by experts such as Marcel Durliat and Jean Rocacher, while the paintings have been thoroughly studied, notably by Jean-Marc Stouffs in 2010. Furniture elements (altars, statues, sarcophagus) are protected as historical monuments, illustrating the heritage richness of this site at the crossroads of ancient, paleo-Christian and medieval periods.

The south wall, partly dating from the eighteenth century (door of 1759), contrasts with the original Romanesque structure. The west dropural walls, redone at this time, bear witness to late adaptations. The bell tower, next to the south wall, completes this atypical architectural ensemble, where ancient re-uses, religious symbolism and traces of medieval pilgrims combine. The chapel remains a major milestone in the Occitan heritage, linked to the cultural history of the Haute-Garonne.

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