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Origin and history

The church Saint-Barthélémy de Farges-lès-Mâcon, 11th century Romanesque building, is located in the department of Saône-et-Loire, in Burgundy-Franche-Comté. Built on the site of a chapel attested as early as 930, it once belonged to the cathedral chapter of Mâcon. Its architecture reveals two phases: the bell tower and its span date from the beginning of the eleventh century, while the nave and its sides were added at the end of the same century. The building, remarkable for its blind nave illuminated laterally, was one of the first such churches in Burgundy.

Ranked a historical monument by decree of 22 October 1913, the church was reported a year earlier by the Macon Academy as a priority monument to protect. In 1935 restorations brought to light an apsal decoration of the 15th century, representing Christ in majesty surrounded by symbols of the Tetramorph. The bell of 1535, classified in 1932, is one of the oldest in the diocese of Autun. In 2020, the church integrated the tourist network "Chemins du roman en Mâconnais Sud Bourgogne".

Inside, the nave rests on cylindrical pillars, similar to those of Saint-Philibert de Tournus. A polylobed basin decorated with masks, of unknown origin, marks the entrance. There is also the tombstone of Anne-Marie Poulain, widow of the poet Jean Magnon, friend of Molière, whose family owned the estate of Farges. Today, the church depends on the parish of Saint-Philibert in Tournugeois and remains an active Catholic place of worship.

The building illustrates Burgundian Romanesque art, with its square bell tower with lumbar bands and geminied berries. Its portal, framed by columns, and its sober facade pierced with bolt holes testify to medieval constructive techniques. The merger of the parish with Lugny in 1939 and its attachment to Tournus reflected the ecclesiastical reorganizations of the 20th century.

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