Photos

The fifth in a series of pictures taken in and around the church of Saint-Peter-De-La-Tour at Aulnay in Charente-Maritime.

The Church of St. Peter in Aulnay de Saintonge, Poitou, is regarded as one of the finest Romanesque churches in western France. Located in a peaceful setting overlooking a pasture at the edge of Aulnay village, its beautiful architecture is enhanced by an extensive, fascinating array of Romanesque sculpture inside and out.

Known in Latin as Aunedonacum, Aulnay's history begins in Roman times, when it was a small town along the road between the prominent ancient cities of Poitiers and Saintes. In the Middle Ages, the road continued to be used, especially as part of the pilgrimage route from Paris to Santiago de Compostela.

The first known church in Aulnay (of unknown date) was called St-Pierre-de-la-Tour, which was given to the Benedictine monks of St-Cyprien Abbey in Poitiers in the 11th century.

In the early 12th century, the church was transferred to the chapter of Poitiers Cathedral. Shortly thereafter it was rebuilt, most likely under the direction of Poitiers' canons, in about 1140 to 1170.

A few changes and restorations were made in later centuries, including the top half and spire of the tower (13th/14th century) and the reworking of the west façade (15th century).

The above information was extracted from an article on the Sacred Places web site. The full text of the article can be read here.

For French speakers, there is quite an extensive article about the church on the French Wikipedea site here.