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Origin and history

Sainte-Marie de Lannes Church, located in the Lot-et-Garonne department in New Aquitaine, is a Catholic building dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries. Its architecture combines Romanesque and Gothic elements, as evidenced by the capitals adorned with lily flowers in the choir and nave, built in two distinct countrysides. The western gate, probably dating from the 13th to 14th centuries, was modified in the 15th century, while a southern gate is protected by an empan (traditional hangar gascon). In the 16th century, a north side chapel, vaulted by dogives, was added, and the walls were raised at an indefinite time.

In the 11th century, according to Father Barrère, the church was illegally owned by Raymond de Lavarnac before being bought for 100 cents by Seguin, abbot of Condom. The site, then called Vellanum (now Lanne-Veille), housed a religious community mentioned in 1259 as Sanctæ Mariæ ecclesiam. The building underwent major transformations in the 19th century: in 1875, a new high altar, a sacristy, and windows were renovated, while the bell tower-wall was rebuilt in 1883 by architect Léopold Payen, "as it was primitively," using old stones.

The church preserves stained glass windows of the 19th and 20th centuries, representing holy figures (Vierge à l'Enfant, Saint Augustine, Saint Peter) and signed by the workshop L. Brun de Condom. Ranked a historic monument in 1926, it illustrates the architectural and religious evolution of the medieval and modern Gascony, marked by condomese and kneeling influences. Its furniture, including liturgical furniture and carved elements, is listed in the Palissy base of the Ministry of Culture.

Historical sources, such as the works of Abbé Barrère (1865) or Georges Tholin (1883), highlight his role in the local religious landscape, linked to the Abbey of Condom and the Gascon seigneuries. The mention of a priory in the 13th century and the traces of a staircase in the south wall suggest an ancient monastic or parish occupation, although the archives remain fragmentary.

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