The Église Saint-Pierre in the town of Parthenay-le-Vieux near Poitiers is mentioned for the first time in the texts in 1092. Today, it is an empty church, privately owned. On this day, it was being unconsciously watched over by a house painter working on the house next door. Our equipment and question about whether church was open spurred his interest and he couldn’t resist coming to take a look. Despite being a resident of the small town, he had never been inside. I think the church surprised him looking so beautiful in the morning light; elegant, bright and pure.

The interior was devoid of statuary, candles, paintings, the usual elements that personalize a church and reveal its human history. Only a few sarcophagi lying in the north side aisle decorated this church.

The empty church revealed its true universal character; only the architecture was left to speak, to capture our…