The best traffic-free bike rides around Bellavilliers

very beautiful village with drinking and eating facilities

The small church of Dame Marie was part of a large priory founded in the 11th century under the control of Jumièges Abbey. The monks left the priory between 1701 and 1789, and it was sold as national property in 1792. In 1850, an imposing bell tower porch was built, which was demolished in 2006 and replaced by the current shingled bell tower, allowing the reconstruction of the old Romanesque porch.

A lovely artist's village not to be missed.

Built at the end of the 12th century, the church belonged to the former diocese of Saintes. It has been restored several times, notably in the 15th century. Rectangular building with a straight chevet. A single nave with a ribbed vault. Sculpted column capitals. In the transept, a dome on pendentives. Chancel with a ribbed vault and a large 13th-century chevet window. On the north side of the chancel, a large pointed arch gives access to a ribbed vaulted chapel. The western façade dates from the 13th century, with a pointed arch portal with three arches on round columns. Two chamfered pilasters separate the portal from the blind doors and rise to the top of the façade. Above this ground floor and set back are three pointed arch arcades with sculpted figures (seated Virgin, shepherds guided by an angel, three wise men). On each side, twin arcades with pointed arches with heads, fantastic animals, diamond points and crockets. On the transept rises a square bell tower.

A building constructed in the 11th and 12th centuries. It was then just a simple chapel built on a temple, which was subsequently remodeled numerous times over the centuries. The choir, narrower and higher than the rest, is believed to have been built on tombs from the old cemetery, from which a 10th-century Merovingian sarcophagus made of Roussard sandstone was extracted and is on display outside the church.

Pretty little town with character!

The nave is covered with a wooden vault with exposed beams. The archivolts of the Romanesque door are decorated with saw teeth. The west gable wall is topped with a slender bell tower. The interior contains three classical altars whose designs were apparently made by Mansard at the request of Louvois, owner of the Prairie de Marcilly.

Of Romanesque origin, the church of Louvigny has undergone many transformations over time. Among other things, the altars and the altarpiece were donated in the 18th century by Mr. François Thébault, a wealthy donor born in Louvigny. A commemorative plaque was erected in his memory in the sacristy of the church after it was found at the end of the 19th century by Father Chartrain, then parish priest, on the roof of his presbytery, in place of a tile. It is likely that it was thus protected from the pillaging of the Revolution. The steeple dates from the 19th century. It replaced a campanile. It was also in the 19th century that the stained glass windows, the Stations of the Cross and the baptismal font were installed. Generally made of stone, these are very original, since decorated in the Napoleon III style, the period of their manufacture, they are made of cast iron and undoubtedly a fine example of the industrial production of this time. The portal, typically Romanesque, is preceded by two steps in which an eight-pointed star and a cross are drawn. This is perhaps a summary of the life of Christ, from the Star of the Nativity to the Crucifixion. Several elements classified as Historic Monuments have been restored over the last few years, thanks to subsidies from the State and the Department of Sarthe, as well as the generosity of subscribers to the Fondation du Patrimoine. Thus, the remarkable tabernacle of the high altar in gilded wood. Painted in faux marble in the 18th century, it is one of the largest tabernacles preserved in Sarthe. The painting located just above, also superbly restored, and attributed to François Mongendre (1644-1690), represents Saint Germain d’Auxerre meeting Saint Geneviève as a child.