Notre-dame de la Dalbade

I didn’t linger that much on the opposite side of the Garonne river. It seemed that it was mostly a residential area apart from a few historical places such as the hospital and the famous chapel. I head back to the eastern bank of the Garonne and I was trying to see if I missed anything. I figured I should just wander around the town and perhaps I would see something interesting. It turns out that I did. There was this old looking church which seems to be largely ignored. This was the Notre-dame de la Dalbade.

The church certainly looks old and it turned out that it really was. It was built in the sixth century and it is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. I understand that this church used to be white as a reflection of the purity of the Virgin Mary, but it is now clad in red brick like much of the city. I can’t say that it was a bad choice and it does make the church look more attractive. The design of the church is Romanesque with the prominent rose window on the facade. Perhaps what is most striking about the Notre-dame de la Dalbade is the a ceramic carving called a tympanum of the coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

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