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Origin and history

The church Saint-Rémi de Lascelle, located in the Cantal department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, is one of the oldest Romanesque religious buildings in the region. Built in the 12th century by the religious of the abbey of Saint-Géraud, Aurillac, it adopts a simple rectangular plan, with a single nave vaulted in cradle, reinforced by two doubles. Its narrower choir and circular apse, covered with a cul-de-four, are inspired by an architectural device of Provencal origin, while its outer bedside remains flat. Originally a priory dependent on Saint-Géraud, the church preserves capitals carved in the choir and abside, as well as a portal adorned with interlaces and billets on the archicvolt and the imposts.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, two side chapels were added on both sides of the nave, slightly changing its original appearance. The wooden vault, of medieval origin, was however completely rebuilt at the end of the twentieth century, showing the restorations necessary to preserve the building. Ranked a historic monument by decree of November 24, 1930, the church today belongs to the municipality of Lascelle and remains a remarkable example of rural Romanesque architecture, marked by monastic and Provencal influences.

The building also illustrates the role of priories in the medieval religious organization in Haute-Auvergne. Depending on a major abbey such as Saint-Géraud, it served as a spiritual and administrative relay for local communities, while reflecting artistic exchanges between regions (provencal and auvergnate). Its portal and carved capitals, though sober, recall the symbolic importance of these places of worship in the daily life of the countryside in the Middle Ages.

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