L'Isle-Jourdain : Saint-Paixent Church

The building has been documented since 1124 as an annex to the Benedictine Abbey of Moutier-d'Ahun in the Creuse. It served as a place for a small priory following the Saint-Benoît rule until the Revolution. In the 18th century, the church acquired the status of priory-cure. Erected as a parish church in 1866, it was restored. The building takes the form of a Latin cross with a single nave made up of three spans leading to a span under the bell tower, flanked by transept arms with oriental absidioles. The narrow choir includes a square span followed by an apse. The vault of the semicircular nave was renewed between 1876 and 1878. Large slightly broken arcatures connect the backrests of the columns which embellish the spans along the clay walls. The stripped capitals show a limousine influence. The span under the bell tower is covered with an octagonal dome on trunk. The rest of the building is vaulted with broken cradles. The western facade has a typical Polylobé portal of Limousin art. The base of the bell tower, enhanced in the 19th century, is decorated with arches.