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Origin and history

The church Saint-Denis d'Aubigné-sur-Layon, located in the department of Maine-et-Loire in the Pays de la Loire region, was built around 1088 in the extension of the old ramparts of the castle. The building, of Romanesque origin (nef of the eleventh century, choir and bell tower of the twelfth), was enriched in the thirteenth century by a vaulted transept in the Gothic style Plantagenet. Originally, its full wooden arch, covered with panelling, was replaced in 1895 by a brick arch under the direction of architect Martin. The church houses two side chapels: that of Saint John the Baptist on the right and that of the Virgin on the left.

The painted decoration of the church, made in the 18th century, is attributed to Paolo Baronni, an Italian artist whose presence in Anjou is attested between 1750 and 1771. An inscription suggests that this fresco was commissioned by Prior Clement Balthazar Mesnard. The Romanesque bell tower, square and two-storey, houses three bells recast in 1857 after being destroyed in 1793 for the defence of the Republic. In 2008, excavations revealed about 20 sarcophagus under the adjacent square, remains of the medieval cemetery that disappeared in modern times.

Ranked a historical monument in 1993, the church once depended on the priory-curtain of the Moe Abbey. It underwent major restorations at the end of the 19th century, especially in 1895, while retaining architectural and decorative elements that witnessed its evolution over nearly seven centuries. Its history reflects the religious, political and artistic transformations of the region, from its medieval foundation to the beautifications of the Enlightenment.

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