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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Saint-Pierre church of Mornac-sur-Seudre, located in Charente-Maritime, is a Romanesque building whose foundation could date back to the 10th or 11th century. It succeeds a Merovingian church, whose remains and a 6th century cemetery were discovered in 1951. Long dependent on the Abbey of Saint-Ruf of Valencia, it was modernized in the 12th century, then adopting its present appearance. Its bell tower, destroyed during the Hundred Years' War, was rebuilt in the 15th century, as was its austere façade, marked by a broken hanger portal and a Gothic niche.

The nave, originally divided into five spans covered by dogives, was modified in the 19th century for safety reasons, losing its original vaults. The square of the transept houses a barlong dome on trunks, rare in Saintonge, while the crucifixes have broken cradle vaults. It preserves 12th century frescoes, including a Christ in majesty and a nimbé rider, as well as traces of a 17th century funeral liter dedicated to a local lord. Outside, the roman bedside, decorated with carved modillons, evokes the Saintongese style, with archatures and capitals with vegetal or geometric motifs.

The bell tower, damaged by a fire in 1943 due to a storm, was rebuilt after the war with an upper part reinterpreted to evoke a defensive character, without its slate arrow being restored. Since 2009, its access has been prohibited because of the risk of collapse, as stipulated by a municipal decree. Partially classified as historical monuments (church and transept in 1948, nave registered in 1952), the building bears witness to a turbulent history, marked by destruction, reconstruction and architectural adaptations.

Archaeological excavations near the church revealed Merovingian sarcophagi, exposed near the bedside and the north wall. These discoveries, combined with the remains of the early church, highlight the ancient anchoring of the site in local religious history. The Romanesque portal of the northern wall, dating from the 11th century, and the modillons of the cornice, representing human or demonic faces, add to the heritage richness of this emblematic monument of the Saintonge.

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