The Ritual Master Hello friends, and welcome back to Fontevraud Abbey, for the second part of our exploration. In yesterday’s video we got situated and spoke of the glorious past of this exceptional monastic site. Today I’m inviting you to experience the abbey in full contemporary splendour.
A recent extensive renovation has brought life back into this special place, with the addition of a museum of modern art, hosting the Cligman collections. The French entrepreneur in the textile industry and his wife, Léon and Martine Cligman, have donated their incredible art collection to the French people and wished that it be exhibited at Fontevraud, making this the National Collections Martine and Léon Cligman, the heart of the Fontevraud Modern Art Museum. More than a hundred paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries, from Toulouse-Lautrec and Camille Corot to Robert Delaunay,Chaïm Soutine and Bernard Buffet, nearly 300 drawings, sculptures by Edgar Degas, André Derain, and in particular a remarkable collection of fourteen works by Germaine Richier, 88 spectacular pieces of glassware by Maurice Marinot, and finally antique pieces that balance the dialogue in the galleries. An unexpected collection to be found in a village far from the hustle and bustle of the city, which seems to give you time to take it all in.
Between the museum and the abbey itself, you can rapidly feel overwhelmed by all there is to see. That’s where things get even better. The transformation of the smaller Saint Lazarus priory located on the premises into a hotel and a Michelin star restaurant, allow you to prolong your stay in style. The hotel is an oasis of tranquility, eco-responsable and luxurious at the same time, an exceptional experience in itself. And if you decide to treat yourself to their Michelin star restaurant, this will certainly become an unforgettable experience. Chef Thibaut Ruggeri found in Fontevraud the ideal place to realize his desire: to engage in a contemporary kitchen, sensible and refined where the superfluous and the pageantry have no place. A concept that goes hand in hand with the austere beauty of a medieval site. The unique “Lune” menu, renewed at each moon cycle, symbolises the anchoring of the Chef’s cuisine in the rhythms of nature, together with local ingredients and even garnishes from the abbey’s gardens.
As a guest staying at the Fontevraud hotel, you have unlimited access to the abbey all night long, but for a truly spectacular experience, you must visit between late July and early August, for their summer cultural season. During the day you get to experience contemporary creations inspired by the history of Fontevraud, and at nightfall you are invited to the light performance. Every single place in the abbey is dressed to impress, with ambien music and light design to convey a message in tune with the year’s theme. In 2024, the festivities have been dedicated to the celebration of 900 years since the birth of Aliénor of Aquitaine. Phone apps made the effigies come to life and recount their destinies like never before, the light mapping told the story of Aliénor in vivid colours, and the cloister gave me goosebumps with its soundscape.
Fontevraud is a special place, and yes, I know I’m enthusiastic about a lot of places I share with you here. I’m fortunate to live in a country with an exceptional heritage. But whenever I reach Fontevraud, and I go every year, I feel I have arrived home. The energy of this particular place on Earth is like a magnet to me. The peace, the serenity I find here, are unique. It’s as if all of the great women who’ve kept the abbey, are watching over their sister.
Until tomorrow, happy, serene Advent !
