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Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne

Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne

Dimensions
In the heart of the small episcopal town of Maurienne, on Place de la Cathédrale; the bell tower is a free-standing tower, set apart from the church, and the cloister leans against its flank
Period
Bishopric founded in the reign of Guntram, in the 6th century (first bishop perhaps consecrated in 579, a hypothesis); relics of Saint John the Baptist brought back from Alexandria around 550 according to tradition; Romanesque main structure of the 11th century, roof timbers dated 1075-1076; crypt filled in in the 15th century; rebuilding of the cloister decided in 1450; 15th-century choir stalls (carved in 1495 according to the diocese); neoclassical portico of 1771; cenotaph of Humbert the White-Handed by the Cacciatori brothers (1826); cathedral and free-standing tower serving as bell tower listed by order of 30 October 1906
What stands there
According to tradition, Saint Thecla brought back from Alexandria, in the 6th century, the fingers of Saint John the Baptist still venerated here

Everything starts with the relics. A 10th-century account tells that a woman named Tigris, born at Volacis, identified with Valloire, set off for the East and brought back from Alexandria, where the head and other remains of Saint John the Baptist were venerated, relics of the Forerunner; tradition calls her Saint Thecla and dates her return to around 550. Gregory of Tours, in the 6th century, already mentions a woman, without naming her, who had obtained a thumb of Saint John the Baptist. The cathedral's reliquary today preserves three fingers of the saint, and a Merovingian graffito refers to “the church where Saint Thecla prayed, bringing back the holy relics from Egypt”. Under the reign of the Frankish king Guntram, the Maurienne became a bishopric separate from that of Turin. The present church dates, as regards its main structure, from the 11th century: a Romanesque basilica with three vessels, whose roof timbers, dated 1075-1076, are among the oldest in France. Beneath the choir, a crypt, probably made to house the relics, retains capitals some of which may go back to the first cathedral, that of the 6th century. The 15th century enriched the building: a cloister whose rebuilding Cardinal de Varambon decided in 1450, a monumental Eucharistic tower, and walnut choir stalls with highly expressive faces of apostles and prophets. In 1771, King Charles Emmanuel III had the neoclassical entrance portico raised, over the burials attributed to the first princes of the House of Savoy; a cenotaph carved in 1826 by the Cacciatori brothers honours Humbert the White-Handed there.

Wikipédia — Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne ↗

Further reading

Getting there : Place de la Cathédrale, 73300 Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. According to Savoie Mont Blanc Tourisme, the cathedral is open every day from 8 am to 7 pm and entry is free; guided tours on request; access to the cloister through a wooden door in the left-hand aisle (to be checked on site).

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

See it on the map OpenStreetMap Directions

Ambient sound

Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne
MOSSOT · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Nearby

In the same department

All places — Savoie (17).