The legend of the serpent and the spring
It all began, so they say, in 1338. A noblewoman was crossing this valley, then overgrown with brambles, when a huge serpent coiled itself around her leg. Terrified, she called on the Virgin, who appeared to her and crushed the beast's head. In thanks, the lady had an oratory built near a spring, the fons currens, the "running spring", which gave the place its name: Foncourrieu. The spring still flows below the chapel, through a round opening in the wall. It is even said that the legend inspired the serpent-shaped ring of the tassou, the little tasting cup used by the Vallon's winegrowers.
A history documented since 1351
Beyond the legend, the chapel appears in written records in 1351. It then belonged to the abbey of Conques, and a small four-bed leper house was set up in its garden in 1380. To welcome the growing numbers of pilgrims, a nave was added and consecrated in 1389 (the arches of the vault bear the inscription "Consecrata 1388"). In 1650 the prior's lodging was built and linked to the chapel by a gallery. The whole, chapel and priory, has been a protected historic monument since 1988.
Vaults painted from end to end
This is the real surprise of the visit. The choir vault was painted in 1680, then the nave vault in 1703, by a monk from Conques. The nave ceiling has 80 panels decorated in trompe-l'œil, framed by around a hundred ornate cartouches, in which the Virgin takes pride of place alongside Christ and many saints. A frieze recalls the coats of arms of the abbots of Conques and the chapel's benefactors. We advise looking up for a long time and taking time to spot the details: there is enough to keep you absorbed for a good while, in the calm of a place that stays away from the crowds.
The winegrowers' Virgin
At the heart of the chapel stands a 14th-century polychrome wooden statue of the Virgin, about 1.20 metres tall. Mary is shown very young, in the attitude of the Magnificat, wearing a red robe decorated with bunches of grapes: enough to make her the protector of the Vallon's winegrowers. The statue has had a narrow escape: during the Revolution it was sawn in two and its lower part burnt, but a parishioner hid the remaining half. Restored in 1887, it was solemnly crowned in 1901. Every Whit Monday, during the Saint-Bourrou, the winegrowers' festival of Marcillac, an open-air mass is held there to bless the vine buds and the coming harvest.
Our advice for the visit
The interior is only open at certain times: the Amis de Foncourrieu association welcomes visitors on Sunday afternoons during the summer season and during the European Heritage Days, and admission is free. The association also leads the restoration of the building: the nave roof was redone in 2021-2022, those of the priory and bell tower in 2024-2025, work rewarded in 2025 with the Trophée du Patrimoine Occitanie-Pyrénées. Outside these times you can always come and see the façade and the spring, less than a kilometre's walk from the centre of Marcillac. Experienced walkers can also include it in the long Vallon chapels loop (about 13 kilometres), which passes Saint-Jean-le-Froid. We rather recommend keeping Foncourrieu for a summer Sunday afternoon, when it is open, and taking time to look up at its vaults rather than ticking it off in passing.