Chapelle Saint-Jérôme d'Argelès, Pre-Romanesque chapel in Pyrénées-Orientales, France.
The Chapelle Saint-Jérôme d'Argelès is a small Romanesque chapel in the Pyrénées-Orientales with a rectangular nave and barrel vault built from roughly cut granite blocks. The chancel ends in a vaulted apse, and stone corner chains reinforce the structure's corners.
The chapel was built in the 13th century as a place of worship for the local people and later witnessed changes during the French Revolution. After that period, it served for many years as a sheep shelter before being restored to its original purpose.
The medieval wall paintings inside show how people in this region expressed their faith through art and what techniques they used. These works reveal how ordinary believers decorated their places of worship during the Middle Ages in Roussillon.
The path to the chapel follows a road and then a gravel walkway that is easy to navigate on foot. The location sits on elevated ground, so visitors should expect some uphill walking when approaching.
The western facade features a bell tower with an outsized arch that creates odd proportions compared to the rest of the chapel. This quirky architectural detail gives the small building a distinctive look.
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