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St Alvère in the Périgord :
the first truffle market
in France to have gone
on-line !


Church
The church is listed as an Historical Monument. The Romanesque dome and pendentives (high pillars, typically triangular) date from the 12th century. The original vault was destroyed - from door to dome - by fire during the Wars of Religion, it was rebuilt in the early 17th century with funds from a donation made by Montaigne’s wife.

     

The Alter
The early 18th century alter comes from Vauclair Abbey. The tomb stone of Montaigne’s father, Pierre Eyquem, is under the alter although it was most probably originally situated at the foot of a pillar.

The Pulpit
Early 18th century. Montaigne’s descendants are buried under the pulpit (cf. inscription).

The Confessional
Eighteenth-century Baroque.

The Station of the Cross
1975, sculptured slate (a difficult material to work with) by the Bordeaux artist, Privat.

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Montaigne’s Heart
The book entitled « Livre de raison » (« The Book of Reason ») which deals with the subject of Montaigne’s death, claims that his heart is conserved in this church.
« In the year 1592 Michel Seigneur de Montaigne died, aged 59 and a half. He died at Montaigne and his heart was placed in the chapel of St Michel’s Church. Françoise de la Chassagne, wife and widow of Montaigne, had his body carried to Bordeaux and buried in the Church of Foeuillens where she had a raised tomb made for him and established a foundation for the church. »
Montaigne’s « Livre de raison »