Struggling to raise funds to restore the cathedral’s old organ, the priest of Sunflower, a small town in central France, came up with a creative solution. He converted one of the bell towers into a curing workshop where farmers could hang their hams to dry.
It has been about two years since received a blessing from the local bishopa pig’s leg gently swayed in the dry air of the north tower of the cathedral, bringing in much-needed funds and delighting pork lovers. Then inspectors from the organization that oversees France’s architectural heritage intervened.
After noticing oil stains on the belfry floor and other violations, the inspector ordered the ham removed. They pose a fire risk, according to cathedral officials, he said in a December 2023 report. When the cathedral refused to remove the ham, the dispute escalated to the country’s Culture Minister Rashida Dati.
The fight over San Flowerham was widely derided as an example of how overzealous officials can crush innovative local efforts. It also spoke to a larger issue that aging churches across France are grappling with in the face of high compensation costs: who will pay to maintain the country’s vast religious heritage.
After the French Revolution, church property was confiscated by the state, which eventually assumed responsibility for overseeing most of the church. But central and local governments are struggling to find the funds to maintain the country’s cathedrals and churches.
The restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was destroyed in a devastating fire in 2019, was funded by approximately $900 million in donations. But religious buildings in other parts of the country are largely left to fend for themselves.
According to the Ministry of Culture, an estimated 15,000 of the 45,000 religious buildings across France are classified as historic monuments. More than 2,300 of the animals are in poor condition and 363 are considered endangered, according to the ministry.
“The situation is alarming,” said Hadrian Lacoste, vice president of the Religious Heritage Observatory, an independent nonprofit organization. “Religious practices are decreasing and demographics are decreasing in rural areas,” he added.
in spite of Decline in church attendanceTowns like Sun Flower, with a population of around 6,400 people, consider their cathedrals and churches to be defining elements of their identity and feel a strong need to preserve them.
“We realized that each church is a little Notre Dame, and a village without a church is like Paris without Notre Dame,” said Mathieu Ruhr, a French historian specializing in religious architecture. speak
In France, as in other parts of Europe, dilapidated churches are often transformed into gyms, restaurants, hotels, and housing.
At Sun Flower, the Renaissance church next to the cathedral has been consecrated and is now a market and cultural center.
The upkeep of the cathedral itself was considered an essential town endeavor, even if it was costly. Sun Flower is located in the heart of France’s Cantal region, known for its lush rolling hills and local cheese. From a distance, the cathedral, atop a rocky outcrop, towers over the city like a fortress.
“You know the saying, all roads lead to Rome?” said Patrice Boullard, a meat producer responsible for climbing the tower’s 145 steps to hang the hams. “Yes, here in Sun Flower, all roads lead to the cathedral.”
The idea for a belfry restoration workshop was conceived by Jill, then the cathedral’s rector, after funding that was supposed to be provided by the authorities for the repair of the church’s 19th-century choir organ failed to materialize. It was Boyer’s idea.
Boyer, a gourmand who once ran a restaurant in Paris, had already set up a beehive on the cathedral’s unused terrace to produce honey for sale. The bell tower was also an unused space. Why not use it for hanging ham, he thought, a specialty of the area?
“It all started as a joke,” he said. “But as it turns out, it wasn’t that ridiculous.”
Altitude, a local meat cooperative made up of about 40 pig farmers, had marketing potential, but thought the atmosphere and conditions in the towers for curing hams were special. Loved this idea.
“We create connections between business and tradition, between products and their terroir,” says Thierry Bousseau, the company’s communications manager.
The project was approved by both state and church authorities, and the first lots of hams were sold at markets, churches and online in the spring of 2022 for about $150 each. This is about $50 more than the average local handmade ham. I’ll get it. Proceeds were donated to the cathedral after Altitude had recouped its costs.
In all, about 300 hams were sold, Bousseau said, and more than $12,000 was ultimately spent to restore the organ.
The project was named “Florus Solatium” in honor of the 5th century saint called Florus, who is considered the town’s founder and whose relics are kept in the cathedral. According to legendthe saint miraculously reached the top of a cliff and escaped the bandits, where the inhabitants welcomed him with traditional local ham. “Please give me lots of money!” he is said to have shouted. “What a comfort!”
Most of the ham curing process takes place at Altitude’s warehouse in a nearby town. But Boyer, a former pastor, believes spending three months strapped to the wooden beams of a tower, exposed to the wind and the vibrations of the bell, gives the meat a special quality.
“Most hams are dried in a place where humidity measurements and ventilation are always the same,” says the restaurant’s chef, Aurélien Grandsagne. Restaurant Serge Vieiraa nearby Michelin-starred restaurant, refers to the humidity in the air. At Belfry, he added, “There’s variation. That’s what makes the product special.”
The thick, rosy flesh is as delicious as Italy’s finest prosciutto or Spanish jamon, he says. Along with other appetizers, Grandsagne’s restaurant offers rose-shaped slices of meat and a little story about their origins.
Jean-Paul Rolland, who took over as rector from Mr Boyer in 2022, said following the success of Tower Prosciutto that he decided to put his foot down when heritage architects declared the project unsafe. Ta.
“This building is dedicated to religious practices, so the government cannot decide what can and cannot be done inside,” he said.
The oil stains probably appeared on the old parquet floor long before the hams were raised, he says.
“It’s like a landlord telling a tenant they’re not allowed to change the location of a painting in the living room,” Rolland added.
He made some minor changes, including putting carpet on the floor of the tower and barring visitors from entering it. But Ham will continue to hang around, he said.
Culture Minister Dati announced the decision in October. The ham will remain, her office said, subject to a “detailed study” examining the “administrative, material and organizational conditions” needed to safely cure the ham. Email. That process continues today.
Whatever the final decision, the ham has become something of a celebrity in a country that values the gastronomy of small producers as much as its religious traditions. Sun Flower made national headlines and ham sales were strong. According to Altitude, the Elysée Palace in Paris receives a regular order of prosciutto every three months, and in June, ham slices were served at the buffet. (It is unclear whether President Emmanuel Macron has tried it, and the Elysée Palace did not respond to a request for comment.)
Still, not all St. Flower residents are happy with the idea of turning the church into something like a market.
“Once we had bees, now we have hams. What’s next, cheese?” asked Roger Merle, 68, owner of a clothing store in town.
