Languedoc began to flourish from the year 1,000 onwards and has handed down an exceptional heritage of sites and Romanesque constructions. With such essential buildings as Saint-Sernin in Toulouse and the small ornate chapels buried deep within the valleys of the Ariège, the enthusiast has an inexhaustible list to choose from. Sometimes quite plain, sometimes lavishly sculpted and sometimes pleasantly combined with Gothic art, Romanesque art in our region is at its best.
The Saint-Pierre Benedictine abbey in Moissac is famous for its cloister: the oldest in France and also thought to be the largest and most beautiful, both for its harmonious lines and its elaborately carved sculptures.
People flock to Conques abbey to admire the remarkable tympanum depicting the Last Judgement, which has remained miraculously intact since the 12th Century. The painter Pierre Soulages recently restored the stained glass windows that light the building.
Saint-Sernin in Toulouse is a major monument of the Christian faith and the largest Romanesque building in Europe. The powerful 213 ft steeple, which rises five storeys high, becomes progressively narrower with every floor.
Saint-Lizier cathedral with its precious frescoes and its cloister is a splendid Romanesque ensemble dating back to the 12th Century.
Sainte-Marie's cathedral in Saint-Bertrand de Comminges has also undergone two different stages of construction, the Romanesque part of the church being clearly visible in the steeple tower and the typically Pyrenean style of the great door. Its Renaissance organ case once ranked as one of the three wonders of Gascony. Flaran abbey in the Gers, a marvel of precision and simplicity, now houses a cultural centre as well as a documentation centre. Carennac priory in the Lot still has its lovely 12th Century Romanesque church with its three aisles.