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Origin and history

The church of Precious, mentioned from the 11th century in the Cartular of Savigny, presents a choir and a semicircular apse among its oldest parts, probably dating from the 11th or 12th centuries. Its capitals are similar to those of the Abbey of Ainay (chapelle Sainte-Blandine) and the Church of the Priory of Saint-Romain-le-Puy, two ecclesiastical outbuildings linked to its history. The name of the church alternated between Saint-Symphorian (original, with Saint-Benoît) and the Nativity of the Virgin (attested in 1662).

In the 12th century, the church depended on the abbey of Ainay, a link confirmed by architectural similarities with its outbuildings. The walls, constructed of granite bellows and detailed pebbles, reveal visible chronological juxtapositions. The bedside is distinguished by reddish-coloured stones, while the granite bell tower combines a small and medium-sized apparatus. The cornices vary according to the materials: chamfered granite for the abside and the southern nave (oldest part), moulded brick elsewhere.

The nave, divided into four spans, underwent major transformations. The first span, framed by lateral chapels, saw its northern chapel extended to the west to form a collateral. The vaults mix cradle (chorus, apse), ridges (northern sacristy), and three-paned panelling (nef), supported by diaphragm arches. The limestone portal of Ruffieu and the brick l-oculus above testify to re-uses and later additions.

A period of ruin was reported in 1469 during a pastoral visit, followed by repairs in the late 15th or 16th century. The 14th century gate, re-used, bears engraved dates (1571 and 1573). In the 17th century, Archbishop Camille de Neuville, abbot of Ainay and Prior of Saint-Romain-le-Puy, oversees a general reshuffle of the openings. His weapons, accompanied by the date 1688, adorn several parts of the building, alongside chronograms (1689, 1695) marking work.

The lateral chapels and the southern sacristy were built in the second half of the 17th century. In 1836, a campaign of construction redone the nave panel. Between 1852 and 1853, the departmental architect A. Favrot extended the nave of a span westward, moved the ancient gate, and raised an oculus. The bell tower is partially rebuilt, with a hexagonal slate arrow added by the carpenter Blin. Subsequent repairs (1875, 1928) were designed to stabilize the vaults and panelling.

The church, partially protected (church and bell tower-gate inscribed in 1963), illustrates a continuous architectural evolution, marked by reuse of materials and adaptations to liturgical and structural needs. Its history reflects close ties with local religious institutions, including the Abbey of Ainay, as well as successive interventions to preserve and expand the building.

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