Oratory, 17th Century

very pretty oratory from the 13th century opening to a door with the particularity of the scriban above a quality 18th century painting with a phrase in Latin below * An oratory is originally a chapel, a place of devotion invoking divine protection. More precisely, this term designates a small monument dedicated to the worship of a saint represented by a statuette or sometimes quite simply by a simple plaque with his image or a cross. The building can be made from a monolith, or from bricks, or from local stones, depending on the regions of France. The origin of these small Christian monuments would in fact be pagan. In Provence, a region particularly blessed with these famous oratories, it is in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie that the oldest oratories are located, probably dating from the 14th century. Le Beausset, another Provencal village, claims to be the capital of oratories; this commune alone has around sixty of them. There is also a pedestrian path in this town called the oratories path1 which is dotted with 13 buildings. The oratory therefore has a rural character since it allowed peasants living in a sometimes off-centered world to come and pray piously to a patron saint and to devote themselves to prayer without going to church. However, the oratory constitutes more than a place of worship, a thank you and an offering with the hope in return of the protection of the saint to whom it is devoted. The oratory can designate either a small private chapel attached to a large house (palace, castle or hotel) or a public chapel built on the side of a road to preserve a religious memory or pray to the dead who were then often buried near crossroads.