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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Martin de Lisle, located in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, is a religious building whose first parts (chew and span of the choir) were built at the end of the 12th century. It was enlarged in the 13th century by the addition of a nave, then modified in the 16th and 19th centuries. Its architecture combines Romanesque elements (abside in cul-de-four, dome on pendants) and Gothic (sculpted capitals, vaults in star).

Originally founded as a priory by the Abbey of Chancelade around 1130, the church undergoes transformations linked to historical conflicts. In the 14th century, during the Hundred Years' War, the apse was enhanced to serve as a defence chamber. The Wars of Religion in the 16th century damaged the vault of the nave, then rebuilt. The bell tower, of Romanesque origin, was raised during modern restorations, while Gothic side chapels were added at the end of the 16th century.

In the 17th century, the Congregation of the Ladies of the Faith settled nearby, using a suspended bridge to connect their boarding school to a choir stand. The building, classified as a historic monument in 2005, retains traces of its multiple phases of construction: a two-span nave, a forerunner with dome, and a circular apse. The modifications of the 19th century included a new west façade and the partial reconstruction of the bell tower.

The protected elements include the entire church, with its carved decorations (masks, hooks) marking the transition to Gothic. Materials, such as cutting stone, and techniques (star vaults, saw tooth arches) illustrate the evolution of local know-how. Today owned by the municipality of Lisle, the church remains an architectural testimony of the religious and military dynamics of the region.

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