Go to the Page LIst for a full listing of pages and their status

All material © Adrian Fletcher 2000-08 - The contents may not be reproduced without permission - Adrian Fletcher can be contacted at afletch at paradoxplace dot com

CIAO ADRIANO

The Abbey of St-Savin

September 2007

THE ROUTE TO DATE WITH MAPS OF FRANCE AND OF ITS MEDIEVAL PILGRIMAGE ROADS

Back to Poitiers to Périgueux the Long Way

The Abbey of St-Savin is famous for the ethereal frescos on the barrel vaulted nave and porch ceilings.  Sad then to discover that most of the nave is presently (September 2007) screened off to facilitate a major restoration program, which looks as though it could last at least another couple of years.  Still, even the little you can see is fascinating.  Here's just a couple of pics at this stage, and there will be more ......

A dragon threatens on the porch ceiling before you even get into the church.  And below, in a part of the west nave not sealed off, a group reacts to something we cannot see because of the screens ........

Outside, it was quite a challenge to interestingly photograph the very tall spire from the barren square (which would originally have contained the cloisters and monastery buildings) - then a group of Friday afternoon boules' players solved the problem.

And that was it until the renovations were finished.  Except that after reaching Poitiers that evening, a chance look at an illustration in a book "Poitiers and its Environs" revealed the fact that our ignorant research team (and all our guide books) were unaware that the abbey fronts a major river (the Gartempe) on its east side.

So, to cut a long story short, it was such a beautiful morning when we left Poitiers a week later that we retraced the 50Km to St-Savin.  Even then it was a risk, because the one thing you discover if you are a sun driven photographer in W France at the moment, is that you can have a completely blue sky one minute and quarter of an hour later it's possible for it to have clouded over.  Or half clouded over, which leads to interesting half hour waits talking to cows etc, until the sun returns. 

Today however we were in luck, as the following photos show.

Go to the Page LIst for a full listing of pages and their status

All material © Adrian Fletcher 2000-08 - The contents may not be reproduced without permission - Adrian Fletcher can be contacted at afletch at paradoxplace dot com