Troglodyte saint
France > Loire > Cities > Chinon > The troglodyte saint
A rewarding excursion out of Chinon starts along the road that leads east through town from rue Jean-Jacques-Rousseau, passing the Romanesque church of St-Mexme and then continuing along the cliffs past numerous troglodyte dwellings, some of which are still inhabited.After a kilometre or so the path runs out at the Chapelle Ste-Radegonde, a rock-cut church which is part of a complex of cave dwellings in which St Radegonde lived with her followers. The sixth-century German princess renounced the world and her husband – probably not a great sacrifice, since he eventually murdered her brother – in order to devote her life to God. The chapel's guardian has lived in the troglodyte house next door for nearly thirty years and often takes visitors into the chapel and caves behind – check with the tourist office in advance, or ask politely.
| 