The church of Saint-Benoît/Saint-Privat, classified as a historic monument, is once again home to its treasure, which was evacuated and transported to the reserves of the Musée Massey in Tarbes when the terrible floods of June 2013 struck the city of marble. A place to rediscover!
This church, with its basical rectangular plan, is a major example of 12th-century Romanesque art in the Comminge region.
Built of Saint-Béat marble, the floor was raised in 1613 due to flooding. The church houses the town’s museum of sacred art and its treasury. After 10 years of restoration, the treasure is now back in its rightful place.
The treasure trove contains a number of unique pieces of sacred art, including a 12th-century Virgin in Majesty, a 16th-century polychrome wooden trinity and a processional cross with a gold embossed knot. More specifically, it comprises 80 objects listed as historic monuments, including reliquaries, monstrances and religious statuary in polychrome wood.
Among the highlights are Notre-Dame de l’Espérance, a 16th-century polychrome wooden statue, a 15th-century painted wooden tabernacle and a painting by Jacques Stella (painter to King Louis XIII) depicting Jesus being found in the temple by his parents, owned by the neighbouring commune of Fos.
To visit the treasure, bookings must be made at the Tourist Information Point at the Médiathèque during opening hours.
