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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The chapel Saint-Julien-la-Tourette is a Romanesque building probably built at the end of the 11th century, located on a wild promontory above the Dunière River, in Saint-Pal-de-Mons (Haute-Loire). It belonged to a rural priory dependent on the Benedictine Abbey of La Chaise-Dieu, a major spiritual centre in the region. Its isolation and rudimentary architecture reflect monastic settlement in rural areas in the Middle Ages.

Degraded during the French Revolution, the chapel was sold as a national property. It became a place of pilgrimage in the nineteenth century, especially during Pentecost, after having lost its ancient statues, today preserved in the parish church. Recent work has restored its roof and interior, preserving this religious and historical heritage.

Classified as a historical monument by order of 24 May 1996, the chapel illustrates the Romanesque heritage of the Haute-Loire. Its location on the site of Laval, twenty minutes from Villedemont, makes it a rare testimony of medieval religious architecture in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The municipality now owns it and maintains it.

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