L'Église du Cambon
The Romanesque church of Cambon was often refurbished in the 16th century. It has the particularity of having two clocktowers. The original clocktower is erected at the centre of the crossing. In the 16th century a square clocktower was added, built on the first span of the ship.
The church in Le Cambon is dedicated to Saint Julian.
Today, the only remaining traces of this former parish seat are the cemetery and the beautiful priory building, dating from the 16th century.
Until the 17th century, the parish of Le Cambon extended into the territory of the present-day municipality of Castelnau de Mandailles. At that time, it comprised more than a hundred villages and was one of the largest in the Rouergue region.
The layout of the Romanesque church has been preserved: a nave with side aisles and three east-facing apses. In the 16th century, chapels opening onto the side aisles were added. They feature superb ribbed vaults. At the same time, the ceiling of the central nave was remodeled to become a vault.
It was remodeled in 1530 by Salvan. François d’Estaing, then Archbishop of Rodez, often retired there.
From its Romanesque origins, the church has preserved a triple-arched portal and columns featuring magnificent capitals decorated with plant motifs or figurative designs (owls, animals, figures).
Among the rich collection of furnishings on display, the following are noteworthy:
- in the first chapel on the left, three statues from the late 15th century depict Saint Julian, patron saint of the parish, Saint John the Baptist, and Saint Anthony,
- in a Gothic chapel, a 15th-century Pietà, flanked by statues of Saint Catherine and Saint Mary Magdalene,
- in a chapel on the right, an early 18th-century Rosary altarpiece, adorned at the pediment with a 14th-century statue,
- the altarpiece of the high altar, featuring a painting depicting the Adoration of the Shepherds.
The murals were discovered in the first chapel on the right, on the south side, during interior work on the church undertaken in 1987.
The church has been designated a Historic Monument since 1924.
