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Origin and history

The Abbatial Church of Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, located in the Gard department in the Occitanie region, is one of the most important Romanesque monuments in southern France. Founded in the 7th century as a monastery dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, it was rededited in the 9th century to St Gilles, a local hermit whose relics, preserved in the crypt, attracted pilgrims from all over Europe. In the 12th century, under the impetus of the Clunisian reform and thanks to the revenues generated by the pilgrimage, a new church was built, whose facade, carved between 1120 and 1160, is considered a masterpiece of Provencal Romanesque art.

It became a major place on Via Tolosana, one of the four French roads leading to Santiago de Compostela. In the Middle Ages, its influx rivalled that of Rome, Jerusalem or Compostela itself: in 1116, 134 currency changers were needed to accommodate the crowds, an exceptional figure for the time. The monastery, under the protection of the Holy See, enjoyed a period of prosperity until the wars of Religion, which severely damaged the building in 1562. The nave was shortened in the seventeenth century, and the big bell tower, destroyed, was never rebuilt.

The facade, inspired by Roman triumphal arches, presents an iconographic program rich in registers: bestiary and scenes of the Old Testament at the bottom, figures of the New Testament at the centre, and tympanos illustrating the life of Christ. Despite the destruction (high part disappeared, current gable shortened by 10 meters), it remains a model for other buildings such as Saint-Trophime of Arles. The crypt, 50 metres long, housed the tomb of Saint Gilles, rediscovered in 1865. The Abbey, listed as a Historic Monument in 1840 and registered at UNESCO in 1998, was restored in the 19th century by Charles-Auguste Questel, who removed the side entrances of the facade and built a monumental staircase.

In the 20th century, its architectural influence crossed the Atlantic: in 1902, the American architect Stanford White s Today, the abbey preserves impressive remains, such as the ruins of the ancient choir (originally 98 meters), the screw (medieval helical staircase), and a classified historic organ, built between 1704 and 1705. Its tumultuous history, marked by pilgrimages, religious conflicts and restorations, makes it a symbol of Occitan medieval heritage.

Recent archaeological excavations (XXI century) revealed elements of monastic buildings, including vaulted 13th century rooms, a refectory, and traces of the cloister. These discoveries, coupled with 3D restitutions, allow us to better understand the original extent of the abbey, some of which remains are still buried under the present city. The Abbey remains a place of memory, where religious history, Romanesque art and legends intersect, like that of the hidden treasure mentioned in The Six Companions and the Magic Square (1984).

Future

The Abbatial Church of Saint-Gilles is one of the 71 monuments as well as 7 portions of paths have been inscribed since 1998 on the UNESCO World Heritage List under the official title of "Chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle in France".

It is on the way to Via Tolosana or "Toulousaine Way" which passes through Toulouse, hence its name, but its starting point is at Arles from where its other name of way to Arles (via Arelatensis).

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