Although no document has survived to confirm it explicitly, it is generally believed that the first monastic establishment on this site was founded around 1040 by Saint Odilo, abbot of Cluny (Saône-et-Loire). What is certain is that by 1284 Saint-Saturnin had become a priory dependent on Saint-Austremoine d’Issoire (Puy-de-Dôme) and retained this status until the Revolution, which came at a time when the priory was already in a precarious situation.
By 1147 the church was serving as a parish and was dedicated to Saint Saturnin of Toulouse, whose relics had reached Auvergne in the 6th century. In the 13th century, donations to the church are recorded, notably from the Lords of La Tour, who lived in the castle of Saint-Saturnin. Following the Revolution, the priory church was transferred to private ownership and only later restored to worship. Despite this, during the 19th century it fell into an advanced state of ruin before being restored from 1880 onwards.
Saint-Saturnin is the most modest of the five great Romanesque churches of the Limagne, alongside Notre-Dame-du-Port, Orcival, Saint-Austremoine d’Issoire and Saint-Nectaire, sharing similar architectural features. The surviving church has three naves ending in a chancel with a large central apse and an ambulatory that continues the side aisles. The transept has two lateral apses, also contains a crypt. Its construction is thought to have taken place during the 12th century. Some remains of other priory buildings are also preserved.
Image of Saint Saturnin of Toulouse (19th century)
Angel of the Annunciation (15th century)
Church floor plan
Published in Saint-Saturnin (1925)
Choir-stalls
Pietà (16th century)
Crypt
Illustration from L'ancienne Auvergne et le Velay (1843)
Detail of Sainct Saturnin / 1460
Louis Boudan (17th-18th centuries)
Bibliothèque nationale de France
- COHADON, Abbé (1844). Notice historique sur Saint-Saturnin. Tablettes historiques de l'Auvergne. Vol. V. Clermont-Ferrand: Perol
- CRAPLET, Bernard (1972). Auvergne romane. La nuit des temps, 2. Zodiaque
- MICHEL, Adolphe (1843). L'ancienne Auvergne et le Velay. Histoire, archéologie, moeurs, topographie IV. Atlas. Moulins
- RANQUET, H. de. (1925). Saint-Saturnin. Congrès Archéologique de France. 87 ss. París: Picard
- RÉSIE, Comte de (1855). Histoire de l'église d'Auvergne, vol. 2 (600-1100). Clermont-Ferrand. L. Catholique
- TARDIEU, Ambroise (1877). Grand dictionnaire historique du département du Puy-de-Dôme. Moulins: Desrosiers
Saint-Saturnin is located south of Clermont-Ferrand