Cloister columns of the Saint-Sauveur Cathedral (XII Century) - Aix-en-Provence
The Romanesque cloister was used by the canons, the priests who served the bishop and administered the church's property. It was built at the end of the 12th century, at a time when canons were urged to live a more austere and more monastic communal life.
The cloister was built upon the old Roman square, dating from the 1st century AD. The galleries were timbered and not vaulted, so the pairs of columns in the arcades that support them are slender and graceful.
Each capital is carved differently, as are many of the columns themselves. I especially loved this writhing corner column!
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