La commanderie des Antonins de Saint-Marc-la-Lande

Saint-Marc-la-Lande

There was nothing here but heathland and a chapel when the canons of Saint Anthony settled here, around 1260: the parish was at Saint-Marc, and the place was called the Lande de Saint-Marc. The Antonines held a commandery here on one of the roads that go down towards Compostela, with, in all probability, a hospital and the reception of the poor and of pilgrims. At the beginning of the 16th century they had a collegiate church built there whose façade and south elevation are the most important piece of Flamboyant architecture in the department: a lacework of stone, ogee arches, pinnacles and niches, in a country village. François de Tournon, commander of the place, became abbot general of the order in 1542. The Wars of Religion swept everything away in 1562; the regular buildings were raised again only between 1654 and 1659, and one wing remained in ruins. The order disappeared in 1777, the Revolution sold the property, the church was returned to worship in 1844. What survives — the church of four bays with rib vaults, a chapel with Renaissance vaults, one bay of the cloister and three Gothic arcades of the chapter house — is enough to understand what an Antonine commandery was, far from the Dauphiné.

Wikipédia — Commanderie Saint-Antoine-de-la-Lande ↗

Getting there : By the D 743 from Niort towards Parthenay, then the D 745; parking on the square. The church is open to visitors; the buildings of the commandery, restored, house the Maison du Patrimoine, which holds exhibitions and events there in season — days and times vary, enquire at the tourist office of the Pays de Gâtine. The façade and the south elevation can be looked at from the street, free of charge and at any hour.

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

Ambient sound