Vienne-en-Bessin (Canton of Bayeux, Calvados) Church of Saint-Pierre

   The church of Vienne-en-Bessin retains a nave from the 11^th century the walls of which are entirely in masonry in beds of stones arranged in the herringbone pattern (opus spicatum) and present a fine series of cornice brackets. A door in the south wall is ornamented with rich geometrical motifs.
The church tower imposes a remarkable silhouette with a high base virtually without openings on two levels and a final level which is open and decorated with arches under its pyramidal spire.
Heavy restoration in the 19^th century led to an enlargement of the windows of the nave and intervention on the original Romanesque décor of the chancel arch and portal leading from the nave to the tower.

Bibliography

- Bertaux, J-J. " Contribution à l’étude de l’art roman en Normandie - L’architecture des églises paroissiales romanes de l’ancien doyenné de Creully " dans Annales de Normandie, mars 1966, 16ème année, n°1, p. 13 à 14
- Caumont, Arcisse (de). - Statistique monumentale du Calvados, Hardel, Caen, 1859, p. 513 à 517
- Musset, Lucien. – Normandie romane, Zodiaque, La Pierre-Qui-Vire, 1987, T. I, p. 43