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Origin and history

The church of Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Porchaire and its priory, located in Montverdun, occupy the top of a volcanic hill inhabited since the Neolithic period. According to legend, the priory was founded by Saint Porchaire, Abbé de Lérins in the eighth century, before being mentioned as possession of Savigny Abbey in 970. A Benedictine priory, perhaps established in the eighth or ninth century, is attested to in the thirteenth century. The Benedictines gave way to regular canons of Saint-Augustin, then the priory was attached to the Chaise-Dieu in 1233.

The site, surrounded by a fortified enclosure from the end of the 12th century, underwent several enlargements until the 14th century, with a church itself fortified. The convent buildings and the church were renovated in the 15th century, but the priory declined in the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1701 he was united at the Séminaire Saint-Charles de Lyon, becoming a school for needy priests. In the 19th century, the commune took possession of it, transforming part of the place into a communal school. Since 1968, the Association of Friends of the Pic has been working on its restoration.

The architectural complex, built of basalt and granite bellows, includes a church, communal buildings organized around a courtyard, and the remains of a destroyed central cloister. The original access, to the south under the Prioral house, was replaced in the 18th century by a western gate. The site, classified as Historic Monument in 1981, illustrates the evolution of a medieval priory marked by religious, military and social changes.

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