Basilique Saint-Martin d'Ainay

Lyon

On the Presqu'île of Lyon, between the Rhône and the Saône, the basilica of Saint-Martin d'Ainay is the oldest surviving church in Lyon and one of the jewels of Romanesque art in the Rhône valley. According to monastic tradition, a first sanctuary was founded as early as the 5th century; a Benedictine priory is attested there in 859, soon promoted to an abbey, whose present church, willed by Abbot Gaucerand at the end of the 11th century, was consecrated under Pope Paschal II at the very start of the 12th century. Four imposing columns of antique marble, salvaged according to local tradition from the altar of Rome and Augustus that stood on the neighbouring hill in Gallo-Roman times, today support the squinch dome of the Romanesque building — a tangible link, though disputed by historians, between ancient Lyon and Christian Lyon. In the 13th century, the abbey of Ainay ruled over seventy-one religious houses, from Burgundy to Provence. Damaged during the Wars of Religion in 1562, turned into a grain store under the Revolution — which paradoxically saved it from destruction — it did not reopen for worship until 1802, before being raised to the rank of minor basilica by Pius X in 1905. Even today, its silence of Romanesque stone, hemmed in by the bustle of the city, makes it an essential spiritual stopping place in Lyon.

Getting there : Basilica open every day, free admission, regular Masses

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound