Projects
The association follows two major goals. Its first ambition is to promote learning art and cultural history of Brittany by the concrete example of the great calvaries and their environment. The second ambition is to boost visits on these sites by organizing animations to give access to this heritage.
Since its creation in 2004, the association benefits from the support of the Regional Council of Brittany and the Departmental Councils of Finistère and Morbihan. In 2010, these partnerships enabled the creation of a sound and light show called “Quand les calvaires s’illuminent…” – spectacular lighting effects and images projected on the calvaries. The association also created teaching materials to guide student visits, in partnership with schools.
- Light show “Quand les calvaires s’illuminent…”
The event “Quand les calvaires s’illuminent…” is an invitation to discover the Breton heritage in another way, by stirring together the fantasy and the historical knowledge concerning Breton singular work. The sound and light show runs on thanks to a remarkable scenic plan.
Nowadays, mainly sacred buildings which were originally painted have lost any pigment traces. In fact, it’s pretty difficult to imagine the typical grain of Granite or Kersanton decorated with multicoloured ochres, even if several testimonies tempt to perceive it. Jean-François Brousmich, in Voyages dans le Finistère en 1829, 1830 et 1831, testifies about Plougastel’s calvary that “(…) ce monument a été comme tant d’autres, complètement barbouillé ; les figures en ont été peintes par un artiste de Landerneau qui n’a voulu laisser ignorer ni son nom ni la date de cette singulière restauration (…)”.
By creating the sound and light show, which was first organised on Pleyben’s calvary in 2010, the association Les 7 calvaires monumentaux de Bretagne has introduced a project which its goal was to colour the seven great calvaries. Thus, it happened in 2015 by celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the association. During this even, the great calvaries were coloured one by one during all the summer, according to their own history and environment.
Today, the sound and light show is still organised each year, in one or two of the seven town of the association. The show gained a good reputation in Brittany over the years as the association succeeded in offering to publics a kind of magic and bringing together all generations. Indeed, this show is totally free, which is a way to provide access to the greatest number of visitors. This state of mind is supported by the involvement of the municipalities and the institutional partners.