Church of Mélezet dans les Hautes-Alpes

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Origin and history

The church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Presentation, also known as the church of Mélezet, is a Catholic religious building located in the hamlet of Mélezet, on the commune of Orres, in the Hautes-Alpes. Dedicated to Mary's presentation at the Temple, it is dependent on the diocese of Gap and Embrun. Although its initial construction probably dates back to the 18th century, it was radically redesigned in the 19th century, notably in 1865 with the addition of an apse, a span of nave and a sacristy.

The particularity of this church lies in its sundial, painted in 1853 by the dialer Giovanni Francesco Zarbula on the southern facade. This vertical dial, decorated with frescoes, is decorated with a metal style and a decoration depicting a sun, birds, and a trompe-l'oeil frame. It is numbered from 7 a.m. to 6 a.m., with time and half-hour lines. Damaged during the construction of the sacristy in 1865, it was restored in 1999 after its inscription in historical monuments in 1997.

The church illustrates 19th-century Alpine religious architecture, mixing 18th-century heritage and subsequent additions. Zarbula's sundial, typical of its artistic style, bears witness to local know-how and the importance of time markers in rural communities of the time. This monument thus reflects both the Marian piety and the artisanal ingenuity of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.

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