SAINT LUPERC'S CATHEDRAL

The cathedral of Eauze didn't receive its title until 1864, although its construction dates back to the ^15th century. This early Christian town was a bishopric in the ^4th century. The bishop of Eauze took part in the Council of Arles in 314, alongside other bishops from Rouen, Autun, Lyon and Apt. It's not clear where the former cathedral and bishop's palace were built. They were looted, razed to the ground and destroyed when the Vikings passed through the region in the ^9th century. The church was commissioned by Jean Marre, prior of Eauze and future bishop of Condom. Work began in 1467 and was completed in 1521. The church's layout is typical of the Southern Gothic style: a single nave bordered by low chapels, and a choir ending in apses with canted sides. It is dedicated to Saint-Luperc, a local martyr whose story was not written down until the ^10th century by the Benedictines of the Eauze monastery. The church has few notable features. A few paintings, statues and the baptismal font are listed in the Palissy database, which records the French government's real estate holdings. More original are the nine vignettes painted in the central apse. They depict 8 scenes from the life of Jesus. The ninth depicts Christ pantocrator (as opposed to Christ on the cross or as a child). This long painted fresco is framed by two stained-glass windows dating from the major restoration campaign undertaken in the ^19th century. Like the neo-Gothic organ built by Daublaine et Callinet.