Along the Via Turonensis (the pilgrim route to Compostella beginning in Paris and running through Tours), on the borders of Poitou and Saintonge, the church of St. Pierre de la Tour rises from the wheat fields. A jewel of Romanesque art, St. Pierre is surrounded by cypress trees, a sign that its ancient churchyard is still intact. St.Pierre's surroundings, which ensure its continued isolation from the nearby town of Aulnay, allow us to appreciate church and setting as they would have been seen in Medieval times.