Saint-Vigor Abbey

A Romanesque allegory of Light.
Does the abbey façade disconcert you? Consider that it was once merely a partition erected to separate the monks from the parishioners, relegated to the first bays, which have since been demolished. As for the sanctuary, once reserved for the monks...
No, really, don't stop at the façade. It conceals an architectural treasure; the marvel of those great Romanesque abbeys that sealed the glory of ducal Normandy in stone.

Founded in 1032, Cerisy is one of the oldest and most audaciously accomplished. Purity of lines, understated elegance of the semicircular arches. And that choir, pulsating with light! An apse illuminated by a triple tier of windows. Romanesque Cerisy is at the pinnacle of an art that lacked only the pointed arch keystone to fully embrace Gothic exuberance.

The Gothic style is precisely what awaits you nearby, by the porch, where the lower hall and the bailiff's hall house a rich little lapidary museum and an archive room. A memory of the Middle Ages. Beautiful Cerisy shone brightly in the Cotentin region and welcomed the crowds of pilgrims making their way to Mont Saint-Michel.