The Cistercian abbey of Mazan in Ardèche
Contrary to Benedictines, who liked to build on top of hills or near towns, their Cistercian offshoots preferred secluded, far-away valleys with abundant water.
Mazan, in the département of Ardèche (southeastern France), is a good example: there is a stream flowing nearby, and the village began to exist only after the abbey was completed, which must have been around 1123, when the church was consecrated. It was then the largest church ever built in the province of Vivarais.
The abbey of Mazan is the mother of the famous “Three Sisters of Provence”, the Cistercian abbeys of Sénanque, Le Thoronet and Silvacane.
The ruins of the abbey are now the site of a work of modern art by Italian artist Felice Varini, “One circle and a Thousand Fragments”: arcs of a circle are painted in actual gold paint (I must admit I collected a small piece that had fallen onto the ground...) with no apparent significance, unless you stand in a very specific place along the small road above the abbey site, from where it all comes into perspective. It is quite a clever installation. In December 2019, needless to say, I was the sole visitor on site...
The river that served both as an element of defense and a supply of fresh water for the abbey.
The Cistercian abbey of Mazan in Ardèche
Contrary to Benedictines, who liked to build on top of hills or near towns, their Cistercian offshoots preferred secluded, far-away valleys with abundant water.
Mazan, in the département of Ardèche (southeastern France), is a good example: there is a stream flowing nearby, and the village began to exist only after the abbey was completed, which must have been around 1123, when the church was consecrated. It was then the largest church ever built in the province of Vivarais.
The abbey of Mazan is the mother of the famous “Three Sisters of Provence”, the Cistercian abbeys of Sénanque, Le Thoronet and Silvacane.
The ruins of the abbey are now the site of a work of modern art by Italian artist Felice Varini, “One circle and a Thousand Fragments”: arcs of a circle are painted in actual gold paint (I must admit I collected a small piece that had fallen onto the ground...) with no apparent significance, unless you stand in a very specific place along the small road above the abbey site, from where it all comes into perspective. It is quite a clever installation. In December 2019, needless to say, I was the sole visitor on site...
The river that served both as an element of defense and a supply of fresh water for the abbey.