The golden angel

If you look upwards, you’ll see the statue of a golden angel at the top of the church’s highest bell tower. The gilding that once covered the statue was last restored in 1965, and has now vanished.
They say that the town was named after this golden angel « Lou Dora », but this is rather unlikely considering that the name deauratus already existed in the 11th century, whereas the statue dates back to the 13th century. The angel statue is 135cms tall.
The height at which the angel had to be explains the heavy contours of the drapes covering its body. However, the gesture of its hands and the elegant shape of its wings and face are quite admirable. Some say that the statue used to pivot. It might have been hooked up to a clockwork system enabling it to spin around and to follow the sun.