Chapelle Saint-Gilles

About

The Saint-Gilles Chapel is a former Christian building in the town of Pons, Charente-Maritime.

History of the chapel: Located in the heart of the high town, in the historical centre, this building is located east of the medieval castle. The medieval porch was built in the 12th century of the time of the Lord Geoffroy III by extending the bedside of the chapel that was to be used for him. It corresponds to the early entrance to the castle. Two Gallo-Roman Miles under the vaulted passage recall that the ancient Roman way from Mediolanum Santonum to Burdigala passed to Pons. The chapel of Saint-Gilles surmounts the vaulted passage. This ancient Romanesque sanctuary, established on heavy foothills, was mentioned in a charter from 1067 under the name "Our Lady of the Castle" and then "Our Lady of Mary". Resumed in the 12th century, it forms a rectangular plan divided into two spans. Its thick walls are pierced with bays in the middle of the hanger and supported by trample foothills. The bedside is illuminated by a simple oculus. Disused at the time of the French Revolution it was a time used as an archaeological museum at the end of the twentieth century.