Thematic routes

Romanesque art on the vineyard side
This tour begins and ends in Cluny.
The landscapes of the villages you go through are often marked by the wine-growing industry

Cluny
Founded in 909, the famous Benedictine abbey reached the height of its influence towards the year 1100 under its Abbott, St Hugh with more than 1200 daughter abbeys scattered all over Europe. The abbey church, built between 1088 and 1130 was the largest church in Christendom until the building of St Peter’s in Rome. Partly destroyed at the beginning of the 19 th century, only the southernmost part of the transepts and the Holy Water tower are still standing. The monastic buildings, dating back to 1750, now house the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Métiers.

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A 7 km : Donzy-le-Pertuis
Rustic church from the early 11 th century. Bell tower decorated with Arcading. Apse with Lombard arcades and pilaster strips.

A 10 km : Péronne
11 th century church. Original: the square turrets to the north are built on the site of an ancient castle. It was here that Gontran, the king of Burgundy during the 6 th century, ordered the compulsory rest on Sundays and Christian feast days.

A 3 km : Clessé
11 th century church clad with Lombard pilaster strips. Octagonal bell-tower with fine early 12 th century decoration.

A 8 km : Laizé
Only the apse and the bell tower are Romanesque. Worth noting: the upper part of the tower included a wooden corbelled gallery built towards the 15 th century and which was used for keeping watch.

A 13 km : Sancé
Built during the 12 th century with an adjacent Flamboyant Gothic chapel housing the fine tombstone of a local lord. Interesting 18 th century wooden reredos.

A 4 km : Mâcon
All that remains of the old St Vincent’s Cathedral is the 11 th and 12 th century narthex and its tympanum with its rather crude sculptures. Fine views of the town and the Saône from the top of the octagonal towers. The archaeological site of Saint Clément presents the evolution of a Romanesque building over the centuries. Built over a funerary basilica dating back to the 6 th century, it houses a number of sarcophaguses.

A 5 km : Charnay-lès-Mâcon
The church was originally Romanesque. It underwent a number of alterations but has been perfectly restored. The central nave, the choir, the apse and the base of the bell tower date back to the 12 th century.

A 13 km : Berzé-la-Ville
Chapel of a Cluniac priory (c. 1100), the choir of which is decorated with wall paintings dating back to the 12 th century: Christ in Majesty, the death of Saint Blaise and the martyrdom of Saint Vincent. Influenced by Byzantine art, these paintings are also evocative of the decoration of Cluny abbey.

A 5 km : Bussières
Late Romanesque style building built during the late 12 th and early 13 th centuries.

A 12 km : Saint-Point
12 th century church, the bell tower and chevet of which are similar to the Brionnais style through the rich decoration and the sculptures. Abbot Genillon, one of the three destroyers of Cluny Abbey, was buried at his request under the side door. Inside are paintings by Mme de Lamartine and a mourning band (black band painted on the death of a lord).

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A 5 km : Jalogny - hameau de Vaux
The early 11 th century church is particularly noteworthy for its built out bell tower. The inside, with its ceiled nave and pointed barrel vaulted choir bay, dates back to the 12 th century.

A 5 km : Cluny