A subsidiary of Fontevraud Abbey, the Romanesque priory of Villesalem was founded around 1109 and is a jewel of Poitevin Romanesque art. It brought together cloistered Benedictine nuns and monks in charge of religious service and the exploitation of the land, strictly separated, according to the rule and subject to the prioress.
When it was created, it included the church, the cloister, which has now disappeared, and beyond the fence, the men's priory of which a few buildings still exist. The Hundred Years War, and probably the Wars of Religion, are the cause of this destruction. In the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, a new convent building was built near the church, thus hiding part of the western facade of the Romanesque building.
To see: its triple nave church. The sculpted facade of the Notre-Dame de la Paix church will amaze visitors.
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Villesalem
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