Espira-de-Conflent : Sainte-Marie Church

This 12th century building originally included a single nave with a transept and a choir endowed with three absidiles, two of which are still present today. The left apse was destroyed and replaced by a modern sacristy. The nave, which is covered with a vault in an warlift, received two chapels at the end of the 16th century as well as a porch open in the same period. The apse is surmounted by a wolf tooth cornice, supported by modillions. A richly ornate bay is in the center, flanked inside and outside by two columns with marble capitals carved with birds. A torus, also in marble and decorated with interlacing, is based on capitals and is not attached to the main structure, which is common in this region. The portal located on the south facade is also decorated with alternating balls and animals. The entire Romanesque part is built in granite and mixed sandstone. The bell tower, probably erected at the end of the 15th century, was struck by lightning several times.