The Saint-Jean-Baptiste church in Florensac

The Saint-Jean-Baptiste church is the first thing you notice when you arrive in Florensac. The octagonal bell tower rises above the rooftops, visible from the Pézenas road, from the vineyards, from just about everywhere. When my parents lived here, Madou used to say you couldn’t get lost in the village: you just had to look up.

She was right. The bell tower still serves as everyone’s landmark.

A fortified church

Saint-Jean-Baptiste dates from the 14th century. What strikes you first is that it doesn’t look like a typical church. The walls are thick, the openings few and narrow. It looks like a fortress. That’s by design: it was built during troubled times, between wars and epidemics. The building had to serve as a refuge as much as a place of worship.

The main entrance faces the square. The doorway is plain, in limestone. No grand forecourt, no giant rose window. Everything is about mass and solidity.

The octagonal bell tower

This is the church’s signature feature. The bell tower is octagonal, which is quite rare in the region. It dates from a 15th-century rebuild, after damage during the Wars of Religion. The upper part was redone, but the base is original.

From the square, you can see the transition between the massive stonework at the bottom and the more refined upper section with its twin-arched windows. The tower still has working bells that ring the hours. In the morning, at 7am, you can hear them from the house.

Inside

When you push the door open, the first thing you notice is the coolness. In the middle of summer, with 38 degrees outside, the inside of the church sits at 20 or 22 degrees. The metre-thick walls act as natural air conditioning. The locals know this. Some come in just to cool off for five minutes.

The nave is wide and fairly dark. Your eyes take a moment to adjust. Then you make out the ribbed vaults, the side chapels, the altarpieces.

The altarpieces

This is what really makes the visit worthwhile. The church has several 17th and 18th-century altarpieces in gilded wood, with twisted columns and painted panels. The main altar’s altarpiece is the most imposing. The gilding has been restored and the result is striking. You don’t expect to find this in a village of 5,000 people.

The side chapels

There are several, each with its own style. Some have polychrome statues, others faded but still readable wall paintings. The whole ensemble reflects how wealthy the village was when the wine trade was at its peak.

A bit of history

Florensac was an important town in the Middle Ages. The village belonged to the Viscounts of Béziers, then to the Bishops of Agde. The church reflects this history. It was built, damaged, rebuilt, and enlarged over the centuries and through various conflicts.

During the Wars of Religion (16th century), the building suffered badly. The bell tower was partly destroyed, the nave damaged. Reconstruction stretched over more than a century. That’s why you find Gothic and Baroque in the same building. It’s not an aesthetic choice, it’s the result of history.

My family has been in Florensac for over 200 years. My father, Dédou, was a winemaker. He walked past the church every day on his way to the vines. For him, it wasn’t a monument. It was the centre of the village, the place where everyone ran into each other after Sunday mass.

Around the church

The square in front of the church is the heart of Florensac. The Tuesday morning market sets up here. On market days, the stalls reach right up to the foot of the bell tower. The rest of the week, it’s quiet. A few benches, shade under the plane trees, the café across the way.

If you walk around the church through the narrow streets, you’ll pass stone houses with painted shutters, old doors, carved surrounds. This is the old village, intact and lived in. Not restored for tourists, just maintained by the people who live there.

When to go

The church is open every day. In summer, it’s a good escape from the heat. Morning is the best time for the light: the nave’s stained-glass windows face east.

If you’re in Florensac on a Tuesday morning, combine the visit with the market. Walk around the church, buy some tomatoes and cheese from the stalls, and have a coffee on the square. That’s a full morning without touching the car.

The church is two minutes from the house. In the evening, coming back from a walk, you hear the bells ring. It’s the kind of detail that makes you feel like you’re somewhere real. See our rooms.