Release of a book on Art in churches, religious furniture in Pays Loire Touraine

A new book on the artistic wealth of the region has just been published entitled: Art in churches, religious furniture in Pays Loire Touraine. As Arnaud Paucton, responsible for heritage inventory studies in Pays Loire Touraine, explains: “This book is the fruit of five years of work. With photographer Thierry Cantalupo we visited 35 religious buildings in the north-east of the department and we identified 4,400 religious objects and photographed 1,700. » This book does not address the architecture of buildings but focuses on furniture.

“The oldest piece that we have inventoried dates from 9^e century and is located in the church of Monnaie. Of all the photos we took, we only present 250 in the book, the others being intended to appear on the “heritage in the Center region” site which is accessible to all.continues the author.

Unsuspected riches

It was in 1964, on the initiative of the then Minister of Culture André Malraux, that we created The general inventory of cultural heritage. The mission of this inventory is to identify, study and publicize the heritage elements which are of cultural, historical or scientific interest. Initially this inventory was taken care of by the State but, in 2004, its management was transferred to the regions.

In 2010, the Centre-Val de Loire Region signed an agreement with Pays Loire Touraine which is a grouping of four communities of municipalities in the north-east of the department of Indre-et-Loire and which includes 55 municipalities. Pays Loire Touraine aims to: support local stakeholders, coordinate health actions, and knowledge of heritage development.

Throughout this book, the reader will be able to discover, with the help of quality photos and their descriptions, the often unsuspected richness that our churches conceal.

“Art in churches, religious furniture in Pays Loire Touraine”. Éditions Lieux Dits. Prices: €22.50