Saint Emilion II

One of the most interesting things to see in Saint Emilion is the underground monolithic church. It was hewn out of solid limestone. Windows are carved out of one side to allow sunshine in. At the entrance you can walk through some catacombs where monks were buried… Their bodies didn’t decompose because of the environment of the caves, so people thought this was a miracle and they became saints.

It is a little bit of an eerie experience to be in a cave-church. There were some engravings (involving astrology and philosophy) and altars that made you wonder how much of it was Christian and how much was influenced by other beliefs. We ended up getting two tours of this place. Our first one was interrupted by a woman in another group fainting, so we lost our tour guide and ended up with a guide from a traveling group, who told us the church was a place where traveling knights of the Crusades came to give penance for their terrible deeds, and the entire layout of the church was designed to be disturbing. He pointed out different things like Templar crosses and an engraving that was supposed to symbolize the holy grail. Our second tour sponsored by the tourism office was altogether and entirely different. It was interesting.

We also enjoyed the restaurants and walking around at night. While the town is bustling in the daytime with tourists (many American and English), it is quiet at night because most visitors don’t stay overnight. The buildings are lit, the plazas empty, and the views are still beautiful.