Lanterne des morts de Fenioux

Fenioux

In front of the Romanesque church of Fenioux, a stone column rises above the tombs. It is not one column but eleven, bound tightly in a bundle, hollow in the middle. A staircase of thirty-eight steps climbs inside to a lantern pierced with openings, topped by a scale-pattern roof and a cross. A lamp was hoisted up there in the evening. It is a lantern of the dead, one of the most enigmatic monuments of the French Middle Ages. These towers date mostly from the 12th century and are concentrated in the Centre-Ouest, without anyone knowing why. Viollet-le-Duc saw in them a tradition inherited from the Gauls; present-day authors read them rather as a light for the dead and a call to prayer. Fenioux, the best preserved, was listed on the very first list of historic monuments, in 1862.

French Ministry of Culture — Mérimée database, lanterne des morts de Fenioux ↗

Getting there: At Fenioux, north of Saintes, about 80 m west of the church of Notre-Dame; free access at all hours. A replica can be seen at the Lozay service area (A10 motorway).

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

Ambient sound