SÉNANQUE. - A Cistercian abbey, formerly in the territory of the diocese of Cavaillon, today incorporated into that of Avignon in Provence.

It stands in the valley at the foot of the mountains of Vaucluse and was founded in 1148 by Alipant, bishop of Cavaillon. Its name was Sana aqua; its Romanesque architecture marvelously preserves its characteristics, especially in the abbey church, with three naves and a transept with a dome, opening off which are four circular apsidal chapels beside the large central one. At its side is the cloister with round arches and decorated capitals, and double-light windows at the sides of the chapter hall, whose vaults rest on columns with carved capitals. The abbey buildings were restored in the 18th century. The abbey, suppressed by the Revolution and restored in 1854, was reoccupied by the Cistercians in 1925.

Bibliography3 works

BIBL.: Ch. De Montalembert, Lettre au R.P. supérieur de l'abbaye de S., au sujet de l'hist. de l'abb. de S., Avignon 1857; E. Roux, Pèlerinage à la nouv. abb. de S., Aix 1861; Cottineau, II, col. 3003.

Enrico Josi

@incollection{ec11_senanque, author = {Josi, Enrico}, title = {Senanque}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XI}, pages = {300}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1953}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/senanque} }

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Sénanque

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