It is near the
Chapel of Bouysse where the pilgrims passed coming from Puy
and going to Saint-Jacques de Compostelle. This first
church of Saint-Côme was for a long time the seat of
the Brotherhood of the Penitent Whites until 1930. Next
to the chapel was once a hospital where the pilgrims of Saint-Jacques
stopped to rest. In a maze of roads and alleys,
the wandering pilgrim could admire the ancient houses and hotels
of the 16th century. Among the most well known: The Caylus
house which has kept its dove-cot which serves as a watch tower,
the Dufau house, the Consul de Rodelle house, the Armagnac
house etc..... |
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It was Antoine d'Estaing,
bishop of Angoulême and Prior of Saint-Côme who
had built between 1522 and 1532 a church of flamboyant gothic
style dedicated to Saint-Côme and St Damien. We
don't know if the constructors intended the spiral or if it
became twisted under the effect of the woodwork. In any
case, during the religious wars of the 16the century and during
the Revolution, the belfry served as a watchtower. A
guard was placed there day and night. The best Rouergian
architect, Antoine Salvanh, architect of the Rodez cathedral,
built the church placed under the patronage of Saint-Côme
in 1522 and 1532. The church contains the heart of Monseigneur
Frayssinous, Minister of public education under Charles X. The
inside of the church is of gothic style and houses notably
a statue of Christ in walnut attributed to the sculptor of
the chancel of the Rodez cathedral.
Near to the church, is the old Lords of
Calmont Manor house built in the 12th century. Becoming the residence of
the Lords of Castelnau of Bretounoux in Quercy, then of the
Curièrees of Castelnau, it was transformed into a religious
boarding school in 1891. Today it harbours the Town Hall.
The pilgrim in order to leave Saint-Côme passes by the
door of Therral. After crossing the bridge over the Lot,
which dates from the 16th century, he follows the Lot, on the
left bank for 1.5 km. Then he climbs onto a ledge above
the Lot valley, in the middle of a forest of beech, oak and
chestnut trees. Direction Espalion.
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