Church of Saint Foy à Sainte-Foy-Saint-Sulpice dans la Loire

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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Sainte-Foy church of Sainte-Foy-Saint-Sulpice presents a medieval part built in the 12th century, identifiable by its walls in stoneware and granite, its foothills and its bays framed with cut stone. The choir, the apsidioles and the transept, vaulted in cradle or cul-de-four, bear witness to this Romanesque period, with capitals carved in white limestone and friezes of pearls. An inscription of 1379 indicates that the building, then in ruins, was fortified with ditches and a pee-tower, reflecting the troubles of the time (the Hundred Years War).

The original nave, which disappeared before the 14th century, was rebuilt between 1893 and 1895 by architect Dominique Moreau, after projects aborted by Stéphane Boulin (1884) and Jh. Charles (1892). The reconstruction incorporated the Romanesque remains (murs of the apses, cornices) and added a sacristy, while taking over the medieval decor (frises of billets, granite columns). The materials of the 19th century, such as sitting bellows and brick vaults, contrast with the medieval apparatus. An inscription on the façade lists the subscribers of the reconstruction.

The bell tower, with a square arrow adorned with a cross in coloured tiles, houses a staircase in semi-out-of-work screws leading to the rostrum. Its roof, rebuilt in 2000, crowns the building, classified as Historic Monument in 1949. Defensive ditches, visible until the 19th century, recall its past role as refuge, while hybrid architecture illustrates stylistic evolutions between the Middle Ages and the modern era.

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