SAINT-PIERRE-SUR-DIVES ABBEY
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Superb Benedictine abbey with an exceptional ceramic pavement of the Pré-d’Auge, a jewel of Norman monastic architecture
A jewel of Norman monastic architecture, between the Caen plain and the Auge region, the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives and its adjoining conventual buildings are worth a detour to the town of Petruvia. The spires of this magnificent building, originally founded in the 11th century by William the Conqueror’s great-aunt, the Countess of Lesceline, can be seen in the distance.
Devastated by a fire, caused by Henry I of England in 1106, there is practically nothing left of the primitive Romanesque church, except for a few elements at the crossing. Then, from 1108, the abbey church was rebuilt in Gothic style. The construction of this new building lasted over a hundred years. The abbey then suffered from wars, heavily damaged during the Hundred Years’ War, and sacked by the Protestants during the Wars of Religion. However, the ravaged building recovered once again: after a few modifications (reinforcement of the external walls by buttresses, new refectory...), the abbey church regained its splendour.
We like to linger over the exceptional ceramic pavement of the Pré-d’Auge, a jewel of 13th-century ornamentation and a rare testimony to the art of terracotta floors. In the centre of a three-metre diameter rose window alternate motifs of fleur-de-lis and fantastic animals. Magnificent! Like the town, the abbey was fortunately spared the disasters of the Second World War.
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