The lower church has walls decorated with frescoes dating back as far as 1000 years. Some of them are pretty faded and worn these days, but some of them are still very colorful.
I keep reading that you can climb up into one of the church towers and get a panoramic view of Saint-Aignan and the Cher River valley. Finding out more about that, and doing it, is a project for the summer of 2010. Been to the depths, now aspiring to the heights!
There are more pictures of Saint-Aignan's buildings and streets here, in a 2006 blog post.
St-Aignan really is a lovely old town.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures in your older post are super.
I like the crypt photo a lot- just think about what life must have been like 1000 years ago. Do you think the wine tasted the same then? I suppose the folks were eating boar and rabbits a plenty.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to the church top this summer on a very clear day for photos to share.
A storm is on its way here today, but no snow this far south.
I loved your pictures and went to the earlier blog to see more. They make me miss France soooo much!
ReplyDeleteYour pictures make one wish they could live there and share in the beauty.
ReplyDeleteKen, we visited that church in 2008 specifically after reading about the old frescoes downstairs in your blog. It was just amazing to see them, the room was dark but I remember the colors rather well. We also went to Mennetou after reading about it in your blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to go back through your archives while planning this summers' trip back to the area. This time we are staying for one month and I really want to discover the "out of the way" smaller, maybe lesser known spots.
By the way, I thought the "lock" on the river at Saint Aignan was very interesting.
Hello Lynn, are you going to be staying in Saint-Aignan or elsewhere? Stay in touch. We'll be around during the summer.
ReplyDeleteDear Ken,
ReplyDeleteDo you know Marcia Kupfer's book about the church in St Aignan? A great work about the religious and social significance of the site as an important pilgrimage spot. I reproduced th opening pages on my StA site: http://saint-aignan.org/Documents/By%20Marcia%20Kupfer%20The%20Art%20of%20Healing_fichiers/Marcia%20Kupfer-extraits.htm
All the best from Montreal (with -20 C! - a far cry from your present -2 C...)
Michel
Ken,
ReplyDeleteWe are staying east of Saint Aignan.....South of Chabris...very little town - Varennes. We like the house we rent so we use that as a base for our day trips in the area.
Thanks, Michel. I don't know that book. I'll enjoy reading the excerpt (here's a live link to the page for everybody.
ReplyDeleteThe sun is shining brightly in Saint-Aignan this morning, with -5ºC outside.