Heritage restoration


What you can visit here has greatly evolved yet also has its own history. It starts with the personal initiative in 1992 of a recently elected municipal councilor who was sensitive to the chapel’s charm. He traced its owners (the descendants of the family who bought the site in 1905) and offered to purchase it for one symbolic franc. The plan proceeded but did not get very far as the rest of the councilors were preoccupied with other priorities.
Without any maintenance the roof collapsed six years later in 1998. The municipality (the owner), was then obliged to secure the site. The first idea was to “use a bulldozer and there will be nothing more to say!" An estimate was done, followed by a request for local government assistance but the aid was granted for restoration, not for destruction.

Thus in 1999 the tops of the walls were secured and a roof was built over the choir.
Michel Andolfatto, mayor at the time, knowing the general indifference of the Castelneuvois towards their history, suggested the association did minimal maintenance so "the Castelneuvois did not feel that this expenditure was wasted".
After this phase of maintaining the building infrastructure came a period of restoration.