Chapelle Saint-Front de Colubri

Couze-et-Saint-Front

On the Colubri promontory, facing the bastide of Lalinde, a small Romanesque church overlooks the Dordogne. It is dedicated to Saint Front, the evangelist of Périgord, whom local tradition makes the vanquisher of the Coulobre. According to the tourist office's documents, this monster lurked at the bottom of the river at the place called la Gratusse, just downstream of the present bridge of Lalinde: it capsized boats and devoured their occupants, so that the very name of Lalinde made the most hardened boatmen tremble, until Saint Front fought it and overcame it. The sources consulted do not say how. The building is the former parish church of Saint-Front, dated to the 12th century by the Mérimée record. In the 19th century, Abbé Audierne (1851) described it as often restored and traced it back to the 8th century; Abbé Goustat (1883) hesitated between the 8th, the 11th and even the 14th century, and noted that it had been destroyed and rebuilt several times. It is built of limestone rubble, roofed with curved tiles and crowned with a bell-gable. At the doorway, two historiated capitals are of high quality: on one, a serpent coiled around a fruit-laden tree holds out a fruit to Eve, who takes it, while Adam looks on; the other bears three lions. The chapel was listed as a historic monument on 11 May 2015 for its architecture and these capitals; its surroundings are also a listed site. From the cliff, the view takes in the bastide and the course of the Dordogne.

Getting there: On the cliff facing Lalinde, on the left bank of the Dordogne (commune of Couze-et-Saint-Front). On foot from Lalinde: cross the bridge towards Sarlat, take the small street climbing to the right and follow the red dragon waymarks; shady forest path, sturdy shoes advised. By car, follow « falaise de Saint-Front de Colubri ». The Saint-Front loop (11.5 km, about 3 h 50, moderate) starts from the village of Couze. The chapel stands within its cemetery; the interior is not guaranteed to be open. Coordinates: Pays de Bergerac tourist records (two matching readings).

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

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