Aubeterre-sur-Dronne

The church of Saint-Jean at Aubeterre is monolithic, cut out of the limestone cliff rather than built: the nave is about twenty-seven metres long and twenty high, carved downward and inward from the twelfth century, probably to house a relic of the Holy Sepulchre brought back from crusade. A rock-hewn reliquary stands in the middle, a gallery runs around the walls partway up, and graves cut into the floor were rediscovered under later fill. It was used as a saltpetre workshop and then a cemetery before being recognised. The village above is white stone with steep lanes, and the Dronne runs below.

What you actually see

• The monolithic nave - a church cut twenty metres down into the rock.
• The rock reliquary - a hewn shrine standing in the middle of the space.
• The upper gallery - a walkway carved around the walls partway up.
• The floor graves - burial pits cut into the rock floor.

When to go

April to October; the church opens year-round with reduced winter hours. It is cool inside whatever the season. The village is quiet outside summer weekends.

Honest expectations

The interior is bare rock with almost no decoration; the impression is scale rather than ornament. The village is steep. Parking is outside the centre.

Nearby

Angouleme lies north; Brantome is southeast.