A lovely miracle for the village of Sauze, which will receive aid intended to save its church. The Heritage Foundation, whose goal is to safeguard and promote local architectural, historical, cultural, etc. riches, has unveiled the Alpes-Maritimes project. The building will benefit from the national collection in favor of the religious heritage of the villages of France. This is the Notre-Dame de la Colle church, located in Sauze, 107 kilometers from Nice, in Mercantour, selected for emergency work on its bell tower.
Access prohibited for years
The Sauze church dates from the 13th century and has a beautiful Baroque interior, rich in remarkable altarpieces dating back to the 17th century. In the 19th century, a massive square bell tower replaced the old wall bell tower. However, over time, this bell tower, very heavy and built on too soft ground lacking cohesion, gradually cracked and began to lean. To the point of threatening to collapse and endangering half of the village below. The only solution? Deconstruct this bell tower to restore the old wall bell tower in its place, much lighter.
This deconstruction began in 2023. But, it does not constitute the only work dedicated to Notre-Dame de la Colle. Indeed, other work deemed urgent is also undertaken on the roof of the building, the dilapidated walls and the sagging floors. It is for all these reasons that access to the building has been prohibited for several years.
Fiscal advantages
But this should change thanks to the construction site benefiting the building, which is among the top 100 beneficiaries of the national collection for religious heritage. A collection in which everyone can participate, by donating either online or by check (1).
Advantage of collecting on built religious heritage: it benefits from a reinforced tax deduction rate for individuals of 75% of the amount of the donation up to 1,000 euros (for donations from individuals made between September 15, 2023 and 31 December 2025 for the benefit of the Heritage Foundation).
Beyond 1,000 euros, the usual tax measures apply, i.e. 66% of the reducible donation. Concerning patronage from donors under the real estate wealth tax (IFI) and companies, the tax measures remain unchanged (i.e. respectively 75% of the donation reducible within the limit of 50,000 euros and 60%).
1. Online, on the foundation’s website:
heritage-foundation.org
By check (made payable to Heritage Foundation – Église de la Colle) to the address: Heritage Foundation, 20, boulevard Carabacel, 06005 Nice cedex 1.
