Chapel of Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe

Chapel of Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe is in Aiguilhe, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France and is an exceptional pilgrimage chapel perched on a volcanic plug near Le Puy, founded in the 10th century and dedicated to St. Michael.. The chapel was founded and consecrated in 961 at the initiative of Bishop Godescalc and the dean Truannus.

It was enlarged in the late 12th century as pilgrimage increased. Godescalc is remembered in the Le Puy tradition as an early French pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela, linking the rock sanctuary to the wider medieval pilgrimage landscape. Architecturally, the site is principally Romanesque.

Reached by a climb of 268 steps to the summit of the volcanic rock. The chapel’s setting is as important as its small scale: it crowns a steep volcanic plug immediately beside Le Puy-en-Velay. Reaching it requires a long stair ascent, which reinforces its historic character as a destination within the wider pilgrimage landscape of Le Puy rather than as an ordinary parish chapel.