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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Saint-Saturnin church of Mauriac, located in the Gironde department in New Aquitaine, finds its origins in the 12th century as a church of a Templar commandory, before moving to the Hospitallers of Saint John around 1282. This transfer, prior to the Vienna Council, is not linked to the persecution of the Templars by Philip the Bel. The original Romanesque building, reduced to a north chapel and a crusillon, was enlarged in the 12th century with a single span nave, a three apse bedside, and a transept surmounted by a dome on pendants. The apsids, covered with cul-de-four, and the arms of the broken cradle transept testify to this period.

In the 13th or 14th century, a bell tower was added to the west, while a triangular pinion was installed at the end of the 16th century. During the Wars of Religion, the bedside and transept were raised for defensive purposes, with a mâchicoulis brace built from the graves of the Knights of Malta, still visible today. The nave, initially unfinished or destroyed, was modified in 1868: its dome was restored, a cradle replaced the panel, and windows were pierced. The vault of the southern absidiole preserves 16th century paintings representing the twelve apostles, now degraded by infiltrations.

The interior houses twelve historical capitals of the 12th century, distributed in the presbyterium and the nave, illustrating moralizing rather than biblical scenes. Among them, four were visible from the faithful (saltimbanks, dance of Salome, Tentation of Adam and Eve, St Peter in bonds), while the others, reserved to the clergy, warned against vices such as greed or anger. These sculptures, influenced by the workshops of the Abbey of Saint-Ferme, combine human figures, animals and hybrid creatures, reflecting Aquitaine Romanesque art. The church, classified as a Historical Monument in 2002, thus embodies a religious, military and artistic heritage.

Nearby, a 15th century cemetery cross, classified in 1907, completes the whole. Its Gothic cask, decorated with saints under carved dais, and its three-level base illustrate medieval funeral art. The Saint-Saturnin church, with its templar history, defensive transformations and carved decoration, offers a unique testimony to the architectural and social evolutions of the Gironde between the Middle Ages and the modern era.

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