Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church Saint-Martin de Caupenne, located in the Landes department in New Aquitaine, is a building built in the 12th century. From this period remain the roman bedside, the cul-de-four, the cradle of the choir and two capitals with foliage. This bedside, rhythmic by foothills, retains a billeted cornice and carved modillons, although degraded by time. Some represent animal and human motifs typical of Pyrenean Romanesque art.

In the 14th century, a tower was erected to the west, now serving as a bell tower. Reinforced by three foothills connected by ogival arches, it is equipped with archeries. This bell tower marks a first significant extension of the building. In the 15th century, after the Hundred Years' War, the church was enlarged by the addition of two collaterals, and the nave was vaulted with dogives. This work, dating back to the sixteenth century, reflects both the demographic recovery and the desire to restore a place of worship marked by conflict.

The seventeenth century saw the addition of a northern porch, housing a wooden staircase leading to the bell tower, a monumental gate and a small door decorated with floral motifs and Latin inscriptions. This gate, with its ground pilasters, evokes the architecture of the castles of Chalosse. Around 1770, the brothers Mazzetti, Swiss sculptors, realized the marble high altar, a remarkable sobriety. The golden wooden chandelier of the nave, originally designed for the Bayonne theatre, also dates from the 18th century.

The interior of the church, completely covered with decorative paintings and figurative in 1875, was restored in 2003. These frescoes include a representation of Christ surrounded by the four evangelists in the choir. The altarpiece of the high altar, painted in false marble, includes statues of St.Peter and St.Paul framing a canvas of the Crucifixion. The collaterals house paintings of the 19th century, such as that of the Institution of the Rosary, illustrating Saint Dominique and the Virgin.

Ranked a historic monument in 1970, the church of Saint Martin combines Romanesque elements (chevet, modillons) and Gothic elements ( vaults, arcades). Its 19th century woodwork, confessionals and altars complete a rich interior decoration, testifying to its architectural and spiritual evolution throughout the centuries.

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