Romanesque architecture (dating from about 1050 on) is my favorite style of them all. Romanesque buildings are rare, their interiors are shadowed and their stone heaviness is evocative and mysterious, and the sculptures are whimsical. The latter quality is clearly evident in a tiny church from the 13th century Ardeche village of Chambonas.
This church, although made of stone with the support of the local lords (you can see their heraldry sign in the last photo, engraved on the church wall), certainly wasn’t the wealthiest. Yet the stone corbel sculptures were completely charming. It was so much fun to look around the building at all the different faces, animals, monsters, plants, and tools depicted. If you scroll these images you will see the funniest one — for some reason none of the little descriptions pointed it out, but it was the best! What are spread-out butt-cheeks doing adorning a church??!!.
You can also see the leaves of a Chestnut tree adorning one of the pillars (they are serrated and have horizontal lines) — a testimony in stone to the importance of this plant to the local people.
