Pierres en Lumières makes you discover the heritage of Bessin at night

The Heritage Foundation and the General Council of Calvados announced the first departmental edition of Pierres en Lumières for Saturday, May 19, from 9 p.m. to one o'clock in the morning, at the same time as the Museum Night. Already present in the Orne since 2009 and the Manche since 2011, the operation was to mobilize nearly seventy municipalities, associations and owners of Calvados. The nighttime entertainment was free and open to all.

Electric lighting, candles and torches could reveal churches, mansions, washhouses, mills or dovecotes; tales, concerts and exhibitions also offered a symbolic spotlight. Thierry Aveline de Rossignol, regional delegate of the Foundation, highlighted the magic of monuments transformed by lighting and that of local mobilization.

In Asnelles, the barn with tithes of the 14th and 15th centuries, under restoration, had to be illuminated. At 9:30 p.m., Pascal Hébert, Alain Lange, Alain Scribe and Gérard Pouchain would talk about the story in four voices. From 10 p.m., an outdoor projection would present pastels and inks by André Ricair from the 1930s-1950s on Asnelles, Tracy-sur-Mer, Arromanches, Saint-Côme-du-Fresné and Meuvaines, with historical readings.

In Bayeux, the Augustine Chapel, owned by the hospital center since the Revolution and consecrated in 1704, would reveal its remarkable furniture in an interior illuminated with music. Usually closed for work, it would be visible from a secure reception area. At Molay-Littry, the village of the Mine would offer from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. commented visits of thirty to forty minutes of the town hall and the chapel of the Mineurs, with an illuminated square and coordination with the museum.

In Tracy-sur-Mer, the stained glass windows of Saint-Martin would be illuminated. Redone in 1960 by Adeline Hébert-Stevens after the war, they represented Saint Martin and the Landing. In Sainte-Croix-sur-Mer, the church of the Exaltation-de-la-Sainte-Croix, from the 12th century, would present its 16th century baptismal font, its 13th century portal and the tomb of Abbé Gillette embedded in the wall of the sacristy built in 1841. Church, yew and stained glass windows would be illuminated. A visit by Mr. Brunet, professor emeritus of geography in Caen, was scheduled at 9 p.m., then a Georgian recital of Tsitsinatela at 9:30 p.m.

In Sommervieu, the church of Saint-Pierre, with its choir from the late 13th century, its nave rebuilt in the 18th century and its bell tower-porch from 1756, would host three mini-choir concerts in Soulles between 8:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. In Vaux-sur-Aure, the Argouges mansion, a medieval and Renaissance ensemble on RD 153 between Bayeux and Port-en-Bessin, would offer outdoor illuminations, a presentation by the owners and an exhibition by Solène Eloy.

In Vierville, a circuit accessible to all of about three kilometers combined torches and history: appointment at 9 p.m. at the church parking lot, departure at 9:15 p.m. to the castle, exterior and ground floor visit from 9:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., exterior discovery of the Vaumicel at 10:15 p.m., then return to the Saint-André church at 11 p.m.

In Villiers-le-Sec, a thirty-to forty-five-minute walk between popular songs and fantastic tales connected St. Lawrence Church, the castle gate and the bread oven, from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. An arrowed course, marked with lights, and a glass of friendship completed the meeting.

The ADTLB also offered about thirty-five illuminated monuments, visible only from the outside: the castles of Fontaine-Henry and Creully; the Rançonnière and the church of Crépon; the churches of Saint-Côme-de-Fresné and Vaux-sur-Aure; the castle of Maisons; the castle of Vaulaville and the church of Tour-en-Bessin; the churches of Mosles, Surrain and Formigny; the chapel of Saint-Louis and the monument of the battle of Formigny; the churches of Asnières, Louvières and Vierville; the castle of Vierville; the church and the washhouse of Écrammeville; the castle and the church of Colombières; the churches of Bricqueville and Trévières; the castle of Englesqueville-la-Percée; the farm of the farm of Géfosse-Fontenay; the town hall of Isigny;

Archive image: https://vierville.cordelle.eu/PhDoc13/2012-19mai-PierresLumieresBessin.jpg