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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Jazeneuil, located in the Vienne department in New Aquitaine, is a 12th century Romanesque building, classified as a historical monument in 1883. It is distinguished by the quality of its sculpture and its architectural forms, typical of Poitevin Romanesque art. Its location was already occupied in the fourth century by three chapels dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Saint Geneviève and Saint Macou, mentioned in a document of 681 when the relics of Saint Léger were transferred. These chapels dated from the period of evangelization of the Gauls by Saint Hilaire and Saint Martin.

The term Saint John the Baptist, attributed to the church in the 12th century, could be linked to the presence of a source under the choir, symbolizing the water of baptism. This spring, springing in the fountain of Saint Macou, was known for its healing virtues, especially for children with delayed development, nicknamed "the Macouins". The building, linked to Lusignan's chestnut, shares stylistic similarities with the church of this village, reflecting a marked regional influence.

In 1584, the church welcomed a Protestant synod, testifying to its role in the religious tensions of the time. After centuries of wear and tear, it was the subject of numerous restoration campaigns since 1988, including the repair of roofs, the creation of modern stained glass windows (notably those of Thierry Gilhodez in 1999), and the enhancement of its parvis. Since 2019, local initiatives, such as guided tours and cultural events, have boosted its preservation and tourist outreach.

The church architecture combines simplicity and decorative richness: a nave initially with a single vessel, a salient transept, and a hemicycle choir adorned with carved archatures and capitals. The western facade, with its 12th century portal with finely worked columns, contrasts with the Gothic bay later added. Inside, the vaults on dogive crosses of the choir, rare in Poitou, and the capitals with varied patterns (palmettes, monsters, doves drinking in a chalice) illustrate exceptional artistic know-how.

The stained glass windows, combining heritage and modernity, are among the remarkable elements of the site. The stained glass window of Christ's baptism (1869) by the Guérithault brothers is close to contemporary creations in merged glass, such as that of Thierry Gilhodez, evoking purifying water. These additions, made in collaboration with the Curzay-sur-Vonne stained glass museum, highlight the cultural vitality of the monument.

Finally, the church preserves traces of its turbulent history, such as the disappearance of the north arm of the transept in the seventeenth century or the restorations of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Its furniture, including a modern altar and statues of Sainte Radegonde and Saint Antoine de Padua, completes a heritage complex both sacred and historical, anchored in the religious and architectural landscape of the Poitou.

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