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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Freissinières, classified as a historical monument since 2008, is a 17th century religious building located in the Hautes-Alpes. Its parallelepipedic architecture, covered with a long-paned roof and surmounted by an arcade bell tower, hides a unique nave extended by a square choir adjacent to the sacristy. This monument is distinguished by its potential history of conversion: the wall paintings of the bedside wall, representing unusual biblical scenes (the sacrifice of Isaac, Jacob and his son), suggest a Protestant origin prior to 1684.

The dating of the paintings, possibly from the beginning of the seventeenth century, contradicts the local tradition attributing the construction of the church to 1684, after the revocation of the edict of Nantes. This discord suggests that the building was initially a Protestant temple, spared the compulsory destruction in 1684 and transformed into a Catholic church. The mural iconography, rare for a building of this period and of this region, reinforces the hypothesis of a cultural re-appropriation. The church, owned by the commune, thus preserves the tangible trace of the religious tensions that marked Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.

The elements protected since 2008 include the entire building and its painted decorations, classified under reference F 2464. The bedside wall, in particular, offers a unique artistic and historical testimony: the scenes painted on both sides of a murated window illustrate veterotestal episodes, chosen perhaps for their resonance with the persecutions suffered by Protestants. These frescoes, by their style and theme, question the cultural practices and architectural adaptations imposed by the political and religious upheavals of the Great Century.

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