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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Alexandre-de-la-Pava, also known as Saint-Ferréol de la Pava, is a pre-Roman building located in the hamlet of La Pava, on the commune of Argelès-sur-Mer (Pyrénées-Orientales). Its oldest part, a 10th century chapel dedicated to St. Alexander, consists of a single, prolonged rectangular nave of a circular apse. The nave walls were renovated in the 11th century, and the church was enlarged between the 17th and 19th centuries by adding a second nave to the west, on the same axis. The bedside, made of stone masonry, features traces of the fish ridge apparatus, typical of preroman architecture.

Originally dedicated to St Alexander, the church is mentioned between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries under the name of S. Alexandro de la Pausa. It was then consecrated to Saint Mary, then to Saint Ferréol in 1858, in homage to the archpriest of the Vallespir of the time, bearing this name. The site also housed a hermitage. The building, oriented and with a single nave, combines pre-roman elements (such as the abside on the overpassed plane, inherited from the Wisigothic tradition) and later changes, including a western granite gate, probably re-used.

Classified as a historical monument since 28 November 1991, the church illustrates the architectural and religious evolution of the region. Its apse, on the ground in an overpassed arc, and its walls in broken bellows reflect local constructive techniques. The first written mention of the church dates from 1286, although its foundation was earlier, as evidenced by the bedside. The major transformations (voûtation of the nave in the 11th century, enlargement in the modern era) underline its adaptation to the cultural and community needs over the centuries.

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