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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Pierre de Martres, built in the middle of the 12th century in Gironde, is a typical example of Romanesque architecture with a single nave not arched, finished with a square choir and a semicircular apse. Its bell tower-wall, pierced by two bays, and its stone walls still bear the marks of medieval taskrons. The building, sober inside, has asymmetrical buttresses and a remarkable Romanesque iconography, especially on its portal and capitals.

The exterior reshuffles date mainly from the 16th century, the period of the Wars of Religion, with the addition of a scallop on the north flank and a shoulder on the south flank, both designed for defence with holes of sight. A 15th-century door, redesigned in the 18th century, has a monogram of Christ (IHS). The church, classified as a historical monument in 1925, also illustrates the artistic influence of the abbey of Saint-Ferme, visible in its sculptures and modillons.

The Romanesque portal, adorned with four historical capitals of the twelfth century, depicts biblical and symbolic scenes, such as La Fuite in Egypt or a warning against the Eucharistic sacrilege. Inside, the shrine's capitals evoke moral themes, such as The Vocation of the First Disciples or the condemnation of sexual inversion, reflecting the religious concerns of the time. The more rustic bedside modillons show monster heads and geometric patterns.

The church, a communal property, bears witness to the successive adaptations of a religious building: late fortification, repairs in the 18th and 19th centuries, and preservation of its Romanesque character. His iconography, although partially eroded, offers an overview of the beliefs and artistic techniques of the Middle Ages in Aquitaine.

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