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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The church of Saint-Pardoux de Gimel-les-Cascades, located in Corrèze (New Aquitaine), finds its origins in a 13th century chapel. The present building was rebuilt in 1486 on the orders of Bishop Barton de Montbas, while integrating older elements, such as the south wall of a chapel decorated with 14th and 15th century paintings. These frescoes, rediscovered in 1997, represent in particular the Holy Trinity and the Annunciation, attesting to the superposition of the epochs in the structure.

The architecture mixes bells with gneiss and cut stones, with a typical comb bell tower and a roof in local slates. Inside, a 17th-century vaulted wooden ceiling, 18th-century woodwork, and a altarpiece painted in 1759 by Antoine Soulie illustrate the later additions. The church's treasure is home to remarkable reliquaries, including an enamelled castle of Limoges (XII century) dedicated to Saint Stephen and a silver bust-reliquary of Saint Dumine (XV century), decorated with the coat of arms of donor families such as Gimel and the Viscounts of Turenne.

Classified as a Historic Monument in 2009, the church has benefited from recent restorations: clearing of mural paintings in the 1990s, renovation of the wooden ceiling after 2000, and a public subscription in 2013 for its exterior trimmings. This work revealed details such as donor shields or medieval pictorial techniques, while preserving elements such as the false marbles of the choir's woodwork.

The site also preserves later works of art, such as a painting by Cesare Saccaggi (1903) offered by Jean Geuffre de la Pradelle, or biface panels of the altarpiece representing Saint Pardoux and Saint Dumine. These additions reflect the cultural and artistic evolution of the building, marked by construction campaigns ranging from the 13th to the 18th century, with a major concentration in the 14th and 15th centuries.

The murals, among the oldest of Corrèze, offer a rare testimony of medieval religious iconography in Limousin. Their contrasting style (14th vs 15th century) suggests a creative re-use of the primitive chapel, transformed into a choir during the reconstruction of 1486. The South Bay, remodeled on that date, and the Romanesque portal attest to this architectural stratigraphy, typical of rural buildings having evolved with liturgical needs and local means.

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