The Church Saint Antoine of Loches !!!

Posted in Europe, France

We were back on my road warrior trails in the Loire valley, and this was a must stop again from home on the N165 , A11 , A85 on exit 11 to the D31 to D764 to D760 and our parking at place de Verdun,across from our first monument, the church, Loches is located in the Indre-et-Loire department 37, in the Centre-Val de Loire region of my belle France, Therefore, let me tell you more on the Church Saint Antoine of Loches !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.

The Church Saint-Antoine was built from 1809 by reusing 17C structures, it was converted in 1812 in the former refectory of the Ursuline convent, in order to provide the lower town with a parish church, more accessible than the Collegiale Saint-Ours (see post) , Completely restored down to the works it houses, the church is a true church-museum. It is bordered by the Place de Mazerolles, the Avenue des Bas-Clos and the Place de Verdun and the Rue Descartes.

It has a simple nave on a rectangular plan extended by a square choir ending in a flat chevet. Two side chapels to the choir, arranged symmetrically to the east and west, complete the church. A vestibule, whose walls support the bell tower, is located at the entrance to the nave. The woodwork that adorns the walls of the choir is made of oak veneered with mahogany and decorated with gold leaf; the same principle is applied to the columns which, at the entrance, support the organ gallery , Along with the building itself, six paintings of : a Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist (17C) after Anton Van Dyck, a representation of Saint Charles Boromea (17C) after Charles Le Brun, an oil on canvas depicting Saint Angela (1769), an Adoration of the Magi (17C or 18C) after Simon Vouet, an Annunciation (17C) and a depiction of the Holy Family (17C) after Pietro da Cortona, a portrait of Saint Angela by Madame Mauzay,

The Saint-Antoine gallery, attached to the church, admirably completes this ensemble thanks to the two paintings called “The Caravaggio of Philippe de Béthune” (purchased from Caravaggio, an Italian artist of the 17C, by Philippe de Béthune), The Last Supper at Emmaus and The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, as well as the precious triptych by Jean Poyer from the 15C and various ecclesiastical objects.

A bit of history I like tell us that it was decided to take advantage of the presence of the buildings of the former Ursuline convent, founded in 1627, but closed during the French revolution. These buildings were purchased at the beginning of the 19C thanks to donations from the faithful, collected by Abbot Château. The Church Saint-Antoine in Loches is thus the result of the redevelopment of the refectory and dormitory of the convent of which it remains the last vestige

The City of Loches on its heritage : https://www.ville-loches.fr/sites-et-monuments-article-3-25-36.html

The local Loches Val de Loire tourist office on the Church Saint Antoine : https://loches-valdeloire.com/sit/eglise-saint-antoine-pcucen037fs000b1/

There you go folks, I came back to the magnificent Loire valley. Loches is nice worth the retour and will be back, eventually. Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Church Saint Antoine of Loches !!! as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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