Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of the Nativity of Allerey-sur-Saône, located in the department of Saône-et-Loire, was built between 1714 and 1716 by Italian masons. It replaces an anterior church of which were preserved the span of the bell tower and the lateral chapels. The building adopts a plan made of a Latin cross, vaulted on edge and surmounted by a dome decorated by the painter Claude Lebault between 1716 and 1726. The latter, brother of the local parish priest Jean Lebault, was an artist appointed to the royal court, which explains the exceptional quality of the decorations.

The church furniture is remarkable, including its 18th-century marble master altar, topped by a baroque altarpiece and bust-liquary. Among the major works are about ten paintings by Claude Lebault (including the Annunciation or La Fuite in Egypt), as well as a Christ in polychrome wood cross of the 15th century. The stained glass windows, partly from the nineteenth-century Lyon workshops, include a rare stained glass window dedicated to the First World War, representing a dying soldier hand-stretching towards Christ.

Ranked a historic monument in 2001, the church has benefited from major restorations since the 1970s, notably under the direction of architect Frédéric Didier (2011). This work, supported by the department and the DRAC Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, allowed to preserve its painted decorations and furniture. Today, the building remains an active Catholic place of worship, attached to the diocese of Autun and the parish of Saint-Jean-Baptiste-des-Trois-Rivières.

Nearby, the cross of the old cemetery remains, testifying to the old layout of the site before the transfer of the cemetery. The church thus illustrates both the Baroque artistic heritage and the local religious history, while embodying a perennial heritage, maintained by the community and institutions.

External links