Discover the domed church of Clermont-Dessous, classified as a Historic Monument
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The parish church of Saint John the Baptist, with its dome and high tower, is a specimen of the purest Romanesque style. Built in the 12th century, it is located near the castle and isolated from the village by a ditch today
located under the arch connecting the esplanade and the forecourt of the church. It is mentioned as belonging to a priory of Benedictines in 1520, dependence of the abbey of Clairac, then it is given in 1604 by Henri IV to the chapter of Saint-Jean de Latran (Rome) as a sign of peace.
Originally, the church served as a chapel castrale, attested by the seigneurial liter (decorative funeral banner bearing the coat of arms of the lord) which was still visible around the nave in 1734, as evidenced by a description of the parish priest of the time, also mentioning medieval frescoes and Gothic script on the vault of the choir.
It was in 1793 that the church came under the jurisdiction of Saint-Médard and received various elements aimed at softening its architecture; thus, the old Romanesque portal opening to the south, repaired in the 16th century, is probably walled up on the occasion of the drilling of the western portal and the construction of the porch in 1783 (date shown on the clip of the portal and on the key of the arch of the porch).
The bell tower was struck in 1822 and repaired in 1823. The church plans a new restoration campaign by the Agenais architect Albert Courau around 1880, with the removal of the interior plaster and the removal of the woodwork of the choir. Site classified as Historical Monuments, the dome of this church remains - with that of the chevet of the church of Moiron - a unique example and marks an original stylistic transition between the primitive Romanesque style and the beginnings of the Gothic style during the first restorations.