PRIORY OF NOTRE-DAME DE CUNAULT
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Today, the priory church in Cunault is a luminous, majestic church containing real treasures.
The region has been deeply marked by religious history and its inhabitants have always been keen to preserve this heritage full of humility that links men to the divine. Dominating the village square, the priory church of Cunault was built between the 11th and 13th centuries. A building already existed in its place, a monastery founded in the 4th century by Maxenceul, which was taken over and transformed into a priory dependent on the abbey of Tournus (Burgundy), which became a place of pilgrimage dedicated to the Virgin. Between the Hundred Years' War, the Wars of Religion and the French Revolution, the priory underwent many vicissitudes. Only its church survived, divided between the nave reserved for worship and the choir used as a barn. In 1838 the building attracted the attention of Prosper Mérimée who encouraged its restoration, which lasted thirty years.
Today it is a luminous and majestic church that contains real treasures! It is known for its 223 sculpted capitals dating from the Middle Ages, as well as its magnificent wall paintings. Let us add the beautiful sculpted shrine (13th century) of Saint Maxenceul, a wooden Auvergne virgin from the 12th century and a polychrome stone pietà. The local association Tourism and Culture offers guided tours in summer. Every year, the church lends its setting and acoustics to the Mai de l'orgue and Les Heures musicales de Cunault festivals. As for the bell tower, it houses the bells of the cathedral of Constantine (Algeria).
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