The best cycling routes around Tanzac

🏛️ Construction: 18-19 AD The arch was built around 18-19 AD, during the reign of Emperor Tiberius. It stood at the entrance to the Roman bridge crossing the Charente, at the outlet of the Via Agrippa, which connected Lyon to Saintes. It is therefore not truly a "triumphal arch": it was both a road monument and a monumental gate marking the entrance to Mediolanum Santonum, the capital of Roman Aquitaine. 👤 Who had it built? The arch was financed by Caius Julius Rufus, a Romanized notable from Saintonge. He dedicated it to Tiberius as well as his nephew Germanicus. The inscriptions engraved on the entablature still allow us today to know the figures to whom it was dedicated. The name "Arch of Germanicus" therefore comes from this dedication, and not from the fact that Germanicus personally had the arch built or crossed it. 🏗️ A rather exceptional monument The arch has two bays, likely allowing for the differentiation of traffic flows. It measures approximately 15 m high by 16 m wide. Its Corinthian and composite capitals bear witness to particularly meticulous Roman architecture. It constituted a true demonstration of the power and Romanization of Saintes. ⚠️ The moment the arch almost disappeared This is probably the most interesting episode in its history. For centuries, the arch was always located at the level of the Roman bridge and then the medieval bridge, on the right bank of the Charente. In the 19th century, the old bridge had become dilapidated. When it was decided to demolish it, around 1843, the arch was also threatened with destruction. It was then that Prosper Mérimée, Inspector General of Historical Monuments, intervened. He advocated for its preservation and arranged for its dismantling, relocation, and reassembly on the new bank. Another figure is also associated with this preservation: Victor Hugo, who stayed in Saintes in September 1843 and intervened in favor of the monument's conservation with Mérimée. 📍 Why is the arch no longer exactly in its ancient location? The arch we see today, on Place Bassompierre, is therefore no longer in its original location. It was moved a few dozen meters during the transformation of the quays and the disappearance of the old bridge. It was dismantled stone by stone and then reassembled in order to preserve it. It is now located in the immediate vicinity of the ancient Roman bridge crossing. 🏛️ Protection The Arch of Germanicus was finally classified as a historical monument in July 1905. An interesting detail The Crazannes quarries, located near Saintes, supplied a limestone widely used in the region's ancient constructions. Crazannes stone was notably used for monuments such as the Arch of Germanicus. In summary: 18-19 → construction of the arch at the entrance to the Roman bridge ↓ Antiquity → Middle Ages → the arch remains associated with the crossing of the Charente ↓ 1843 → demolition of the old bridge and threat to the arch ↓ 1843-1844 → Mérimée's intervention and relocation of the arch ↓ 1905 → classified as a Historical Monument

beautiful passages along the Charente with pretty monuments and small waterfront cafés in Port d’Envaux and Saintes.

The Saint-Pierre Cathedral is located in the heart of the old town on the left bank of the Charente. According to tradition, the founding of this episcopal see goes back to Saint Eutrope. The construction of the first Christian building on the site of the current cathedral could not be dated with any precision. It probably dates back to the 6th century.

The Château de la Garde was built around 1606-1610.

Certain foundations of small elongated freestones bear witness to a building from the end of the 11th century or the beginning of the 12th century. The nave was taken over in the second half of the 12th century and reinforced by arcades. If the base of the bell tower is characteristic of Romanesque architecture, its upper part bears the mark of the first Gothic age. The octagonal stone spire crowns a bell chamber based on a similar plan, the sides featuring alternating single bays and twin bays. Finally, the north wall and the facade were redone in the 19th century, the first bay of the nave having been shortened in order to widen the road passing in front of the church41. Like the majority of churches in the region, the Saint-Pierre de Gémozac church is based on a plan in the shape of a Latin cross. It consists of a single nave with four bays covered with a pointed barrel vault, which was completely redone in the 16th century. Inside, arcades respond to the buttresses and serve to reinforce the structure of the building. As in some Romanesque churches in the region, the transepts are covered with cupolas. However, if the north brace has a dome on squinches, the south brace has the particularity of having a dome on pendentives. The two arms of the transept are extended by apsidioles: the oldest (12th century), that of the south transept, forms a vaulted hemicycle; the most recent is a rectangular chapel covered with ribbed vaults. A narrow arcade opens onto the first bay of the choir. This forms a set of two spans. The first is covered with quadripartite warheads, while the second is completed by liernes. The flat apse (13th century), pierced with a triplet, testifies to the Cistercian influence on the architecture of the time. The church of Saint-Pierre de Gémozac is part of the tourist inventory of the most beautiful churches of Saintonge and is often cited among the religious buildings worthy of a visit. In certain aspects, this church is indeed one of the beautiful Romanesque churches of the Saintonge type, among which are still the remarkable churches of Rétaud, Rioux or even Thaims, all located in its canton.

The Château de La Salle certainly originated from the stronghold of Ozignac, which gave its name to the current hamlet of Louzignac, located near the castle. Located in the middle of a vast plain, the Château de La Salle is a classic building, sober, rigorous and of great coherence, which seems to have been erected in one go. Built on a north-east-south-west axis, it is accompanied, to the south-east, by a vast lateral courtyard lined with outbuildings, to which formerly corresponded, to the north-west, a tall forest which sheltered it from the winds. dominant. The set was preceded by a long straight avenue lined with trees whose layout is barely discernible today, but which is revealed by the first cadastral plan of Gémozac. It led to the forecourt which was further punctuated by two identical pavilions covered with tiles. Only the corner one remains. That of the north corner, although protected in 1990 as historical monuments, disappeared after being damaged by a fire. The castle itself is built in the axis of the forecourt, on a rectangular embankment surrounded on all sides by ditches cut in the rock, which allowed the extraction of part of the building materials. It is accessible by crossing an axial bridge with two arches. The ditches are protected by square section balusters, except in the northern part, where they have disappeared. Composed of a ground floor and a first floor, the residence of the lords of La Salle includes, on the arrival side, a main building at the back of the courtyard, framed by two symmetrical side wings. Of the same height, these three bodies of buildings are covered with a roof topped with Roman tiles, except on the two small sections placed on the side of the forecourt, where the flat tiles were used. To the south-west, on the side of the old parterres, the castle develops a more generously lit facade. Before certain openings were blocked, it had eleven bays, regularly organized from the axial bay which is marked by an elegant bridge-perron with three arches spanning the moat. Each of the two corners is marked by a fore body with three bays arranged in the extension of the side wings of the facade overlooking the forecourt (see the aerial view). The south-east side wing contains the old kitchen which is still covered with a semi-circular vault.

A small town in the Charente Maritime region. There are a number of historical monuments, such as the castle, the castle and several churches.

A washhouse that was once used to wash clothes. While it is no longer really used for its primary purpose, you can stop there for a cool break and refill your water bottles.