Camino Photo of the Day: Twisty!

I took this photo at dusk. This is the twisty spire of the church of Saint-Côme-et-Saint-Damien in Saint-Côme-d’Olt. This particular style of tower is known as a twisted or flamed bell tower. There are more than sixty such towers in France, and perhaps a hundred throughout Europe. Often times they are the result of subsidence when the roof is too high or too heavy for the tower on which it’s resting. Some, however, like this one, were built this way on purpose for artistic reasons. This one was built during a 1929 reconstruction after the tower had been damaged by lightning.

Date: 24 August 2023
Place: Saint-Côme-d’Olt, Aveyron Département, Region of Occitanie, France

Maps!

If you’re the sort who looks at the maps, you’ll note that the stage shown is 32+km long. I split this up into two days, since I wanted to spend some time exploring both Saint-Chély-d’Aubrac and Saint-Côme-d’Olt, both of which are on the list of most beautiful villages in France.