Pulling a Tongue?
Town & Tower
St.-Philibert's Tomb
Apsidial ViewYet Another Burgundian Romanesque Church Town
"Another Day of Church Hopping"
The town of Tournus (pop. 6.7K) sits astride the N6 and near the A67 at the head of the Maconnais wine district, which is the northern continuation of the Beaujolais vineyards. Over many decades, we have been fond of the Pouilly-Fuisse white Macon wines. We stopped at Tournus to visit the Abbey church of St.-Philibert on our way to see the church of Brou (in Bourg-en-Bresse) and then the remains of Cluny. The town has adapted the pieces of the abbey and its protective walls to accommodate the trickle of sightseers who are curious about this Romanesque pile which has survived many depredations. One approaches the church via a simple street from the highway between two stubby towers that once were the gate through a surrounding protective wall.
"The Church"
The church of the monastery at Tournus is early Romanesque and as is often the case, was rebuilt after a fire, utilizing remains from the previous church, in this case the dark Narthex and the narrow crypt.
