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Origin and history

Saint-Sauveur-et-Saint-Martin de Saint-Macaire, located in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, is a former Benedictine priory, dependent on the Sainte-Croix Abbey of Bordeaux. Founded on the ruins of a Gallo-Roman villa called Ligena, it replaces a primitive chapel dedicated to Saint Laurent, where lay the body of Saint Macaire, a hermit of eastern origin who died around 430. The current Romanesque building was rebuilt after the destruction of the monastery in 1096 by Guillaume IX d'Aquitaine, following conflicts with the Abbey of Sainte-Croix.

The church, classified as a Historical Monument as early as 1840, presents a Latin cross plan with three polygonal Romanesque apses, a nave of four spans (one from the 12th century and three from the 13th), and a 15th century hexagonal bell tower. His bedside, adorned with 19 historic capitals, illustrates biblical and moral scenes, such as the Sacrifice of Isaac or Saint Macaire and demons. The murals of the vaults, dated from the 13th to 14th centuries and restored in the 19th century, represent apocalyptic themes and episodes of the Golden Legend of Jacques de Voragine.

Over the centuries, the church underwent major transformations: separation into two parts by a wall in the 18th century (damaged in 1781), restorations in the 19th century (carpent, facade, suppression of the west porch), and rediscovered preroman remains, such as paintings from the 10th to 11th centuries under the cloister. His treasures include 13th-century wooden vantals, classified in 1913, and baroque reliquaries. The stained glass windows, installed in 1870 by Joseph Villiet, reflect neo-Gothic art.

The Priory, the spiritual center of the Entre-deux-Mers, was occupied by the Jesuits from 1579 to 1781. Its cloister, inscribed in 1925, retains twin columns and an aniconic refectory. A preroman carved stone, discovered in the foundations (representing a mythical animal), is displayed in town hall. Romanesque iconography, centered on the fight against sin (luxury, temptation), bears witness to its educational role in medieval society.

Historical conflicts, such as the Hundred Years War or the Fronde, damaged the building. In the 19th century, restoration campaigns (1825, 1841) saved the church, whose vault collapsed in 1563 and 1811. The paintings, retouched by Sandré in 1825, were studied in 1997 and restored in 2008–2009, revealing original colours (aurite blue, cinnabar red) under modern cover. Today, the church combines Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque heritage, reflecting its turbulent history.

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