Prieuré de St. Cosme

Yesterday, following a hunch, we cycled a few kilometers outside of Tours toward the Priory of St. Cosmo. As it turned out, they are in the middle of renovations, and so the whole monument is closed. However, they promised to be open starting today to show off the progress they’ve made so far.

As luck would have it, today’s itinerary took us right past there, and so we stopped and they actually were open. It is definitely under construction, but still an interesting site. First it was a religious institution that dates back to the year 1000, and later famously the home of the Renaissance poet Pierre Ronsard. The whole place fell into disrepair in the 1700 – 1800 timeframe but renovations began in 1920. In 1944 the Allies bombed the site accidentally while trying to drive the Germans out. Still some cool buildings and Middle Ages detail remain. Recent archaeological work uncovered two previously unknown cemeteries, and so this poor guy has to spend part of his eternal rest on display for tourists like me. Some reward for what was undoubtedly the pious life of a monk.