モンペリエ＝ド＝メディランでののおすすめグラベルライド

この小さな道は、グラベルに最適な白い砂利道で終わります。

In the heart of the singles of the forest of St Leger

beautiful passages along the Charente with pretty monuments and small waterfront cafés in Port d’Envaux and Saintes.

The Gallo-Roman amphitheater of Sainte, also called the Arena of Saintes, is an elliptical monument built between 40 and 50 AD, probably during the reigns of Tiberius and Claudius. It measures approximately 126 meters by 102 meters and could accommodate between 12,000 and 15,000 spectators, making it one of the largest and oldest amphitheaters in Gaul. Located in a natural valley called the "Arènes valley," it takes advantage of the topography to limit construction work, with stands backing onto the hill. The site has two monumental gates, the "Gate of the Living" to the east and the "Gate of the Dead" to the west, and has been the subject of a major restoration project since 2021 to preserve this exceptional heritage. Accessible on foot from the city center, it offers an immersion in Roman history with an educational trail and activities for families

The current church replaces a Romanesque church that occupied the same site. Poorly maintained and dilapidated over the centuries, it was in danger of falling into ruin when the Count of Sénectère, Lord of Didonne and Semussac, proposed to the parish community that a new building be built. The issue was clearly not a priority for the inhabitants, who, meeting in assembly in February 1771, were barely more than ten people deliberating, and agreed that a simple repair of the old sanctuary would be just as suitable. A chapter assembly, held on Sunday, April 2 of the same year, resolved the situation, and it was ultimately decided to rebuild the parish church, on the condition that as many materials as possible be reused to limit costs. Work began quickly, and just three years later, on November 22, 1774, the church was blessed and opened for worship during a solemn ceremony attended by Mr. Étienne de la Sale, Prior of Semussac, Mr. Vanson, Archpriest-Parish Priest of Arvert, and the Count of Sénectère, Lord of Didonne. However, signs of weakness quickly appeared in the bell tower, which the parish trustee, Jacques Guillot, proposed be demolished in 1788 and replaced with a simple pinnacle. The growth of the Catholic population during the 19th century necessitated an expansion of the church, and a campaign of renovations began in 1877 under the direction of the architect Eustase Rullier, also the master builder of the Church of Our Lady of the Angels in Pontaillac, in Royan. The nave was extended and the current bell tower-porch was built, giving the church the appearance it retains today. The interior, very simple, consists of a single nave flanked by two small transepts and a choir covered with lowered barrel vaults. The rear of the façade houses a neo-Gothic gallery. The former presbytery, built in 1729 and which became the town hall in 1980, retains a carved stone on its façade from the old Romanesque church, which appears to date from the 11th century.

February 1771: Count de Senecterre, owner of the Château de Didonne, proposed to the people of Semussac the reconstruction of the church. Few people showed interest, and the ten who remained to deliberate thought it would be better to repair the parish church while keeping it as it was. However, they agreed to demolish it entirely, along with the bell tower, and rebuild everything from scratch according to a plan to be agreed upon. Entremondit, Lord Count de Senecterre, the said prior, and four notables from Bemuses, to whom they gave full powers for this purpose, provided that it be within the boundaries of the old church and the adjoining cemetery and that the said church could accommodate the same number of people as the current church... and that, furthermore,...usable materials from the old one would be used first. (Departmental Archives of Charente-Maritime) The Count of Senecterre considered that a decision taken by such a small number of people was unacceptable. The inhabitants gathered in a chapter assembly on Sunday, April 2, 1771, agreed that the church be demolished and replaced by a new building, which would be completed in 1774. Etienne la Sale notes in the parish registers: Today, November 22, 1774, the blessing of the new church of Saint Etienne de Semussac was held, built with the care and expense of Mr. Etienne de la Sale, Prior of Semussac, the Count of Senecterre, and the inhabitants and tenants of the said parish. This blessing was performed by Mr. Vanson, parish priest and archpriest of Arvers, and the ecclesiastical curates, who attended and signed. for a mission, having been granted by the Bishop of Saintes on November 14, 1774. (Excerpt from Frédéric Chasseboeuf's book, Le Château de Didonne)

Parish church dedicated to Saint Lawrence, built in the 12th century. It opens with a semicircular doorway with three archivolts resting on sculpted capitals that have lost their columns. The doorway was narrowed by two jambs and an archivolt with prismatic moldings from the 15th or 16th century. The corners of the facade are each buttressed by a group of three large engaged columns, surmounted from the first entablature by five smaller columns bearing capitals decorated with vegetal motifs. Above the first entablature is a row of seven ogival openings, the columns of which have disappeared. A pediment with two ramps from the 17th century. Its facade is very interesting. A deep and vast portal with four arches occupies the entire ground floor. The archivolts are decorated with geometric motifs. On the first floor, a beautiful Romanesque arcading unfolds its seven arches supported by slender columns. A blunt gable pierced by a semicircular window and crossed by a cornice supported by modifications completes it. The square bell tower is placed along the north wall. It is adorned, between the first and second entablatures, on the west and north faces, with three arcading. Above the second entablature, it takes an octagonal shape supported by a sloped section. Amputated of its upper part, it has retained from the 12th century only its base, its square first floor with false semicircular windows, and its staircase tower is also square. The octagonal second floor, with its pointed roof, was rebuilt in the 17th century. The nave has three bays separated by strong half-engaged columns, but only the left wall survives from the original building. It is pierced by three undecorated Romanesque splayed windows; the semicircular vault is made of lightweight materials. A few Romanesque arches frame the false square, which, through a wide bay on the left, connects to the base of the bell tower. This space, covered by an octagonal dome on squinches, forms a porch. The apse with a straight wall, vaulted like the preceding bay and the nave, is lit by three modern bare windows. To the left, a slightly broken bay opens onto a rectangular chapel that follows the porch located under the bell tower. This chapel, also with a flat chevet, is lit by an axial window, unsculpted on the interior but beautifully decorated on the exterior. The church of Saint-Simon de Pellouaille suffered severe attacks during the Wars of Religion, attacks attested by traces of fire still visible at the base of the bell tower. In the 16th century, it lost its south wall, its apse, and the crown of its bell tower. In the nave, one can see a well-made painting and a curious stone font. Near the south wall, eight ancient burials were discovered at the beginning of the present century. The church was listed as a Historic Monument on September 19, 1923.

There are pretty singles in this forest