Vézelay

V?zelay is a commune in the Yonne d?partement in the Bourgogne r?gion of France.

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In the 9th century, the Benedictine abbey of V?zelay was founded, as many abbeys were, on land that had been a late Roman villa, of Vercellus (Vercelle becoming V?zelay). The villa had passed into the hands of the Carolingians and devolved to a Carolingian count, Girart, of Rousillon. His two convents were looted and dispersed by Moorish raiding parties in the 8th century, and a hilltop convent was burnt by Norman raiders. The 9th-century refound under the guidance of Badilo became an affiliate of the reformed Benedictine order of Cluny. The Benedictine abbey church of Ste-Marie-Madeleine, with its complicated program of imagery in sculpted capitals and portals, is one of the outstanding masterpieces of Burgundian Romanesque art and architecture, though much of its exterior sculpture was defaced at the French Revolution.

Commune: A commune or comune is a system of social and economic organization which involves the common ownership of resources and/or shared obligations. Within that framework, the word can have various meanings:...

Bourgogne: :This article is about the French administrative r?gion of Bourgogne. For the historical duchy and province of Burgundy, as well as the cultural area of Burgundy, see Burgundy....

France: The French Republic or France (: R?publique fran?aise or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents....