La Cité du Mot is the name of the Centre culturel de rencontre that has been located in the heart of the priory since 2014 and is responsible for ensuring its accessibility, activity and influence. Located on the banks of the Loire, 2 hours from Paris, the Cité du Mot is a place where history, culture, creation and transmission come together; the original meeting between an exceptional heritage site and a cultural project of reference based around the word, in all its forms.
THE HERITAGE SITE
The Priory of La Charité is an exceptional monument in more ways than one. A member of the network of Cluniac sites, a rare example in France of a ‘monument-city quarter’, its church is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a stage on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in France. Founded in 1059 on the initiative of the Order of Cluny, this Benedictine monastery is a testament to Burgundian Romanesque art. In the 12th century, the Church of Our Lady was the second largest church in Christendom after Cluny, with more than 200 monks living in the priory, which at the time covered 5 hectares. The Hundred Years War, followed by the Wars of Religion, gradually weakened the city. In 1559, a fire hastened the monastery's ruin. Major construction projects in the 17th and 18th centuries contributed to the priory's rebirth. Everything came to a halt with the Revolution: the priory was sold off in lots and gradually became a city district. The 1998 UNESCO classification marked the beginning of the site's revival. Since 2001, the town of La Charité-sur-Loire, which owns the site, has embarked on a vast restoration programme.
ACTIVITIES AND ACTIONS
The Cité du Mot project advocates an inclusive vision of society with the ‘word’ as a common good and as a bond between a territory, its inhabitants and its heritage.
Throughout the year, it offers three highlights:
Since 2005, every spring, La Charité has celebrated words with the festival Aux quatre coins du mot (In every corner of the word) during an event like no other, mixing the arts, audiences, ages and desires, with books, reading and joyful curiosity for all as a common thread. For 5 days, 70 events, most of them with free admission, in a variety of formats: meetings, shows, exhibitions, participatory workshops, readings, listening to the Loire... With the summer season, ‘Voilà l'été dans la Cité!’, tourists and local residents alike can enjoy a wide range of activities to discover the heritage of La Charité-sur-Loire, a Town of Art and History. True to its word, the priory welcomes the municipal library, which sets up its summer quarters there. Shows, festivals and events set the pace for a summer full of partnerships. Grands chemins, meanwhile, has become the unmissable November event in the Nièvre and offers a cultural, international and solidarity-based event, bringing together some fifty events in fifteen or so municipalities that explore major contemporary issues and problems (migration, climate, etc.).
Throughout the year, the Cité du Mot develops an important programme of cultural activities for all audiences, aimed at young people and remote audiences, offered to schools, educational structures and partners in the region. The Cité du Mot hosts residencies and offers spaces for inspiration and encounters for local and international artists with the Nora programme for refugee artists and Odyssey for non-French-speaking artists from abroad.