Statue de Joachim du Bellay

The story behind the statue of Joachim du Bellay in Liré is rather far-fetched. The author was first given a statue by the town of Ancenis in 1894. However, Liré, du Bellay’s home village, also wanted to pay tribute to him. When the Ancenis statue disappeared during the Second World War, the Direction des Arts et des Lettres commissioned the famous Angevin sculptor Alfred Benon. Benon set about studying the author’s features, based on a proposal for a statue that was due to be erected in Liré in 1939, but which had been postponed following the outbreak of war. But at the Liberation, surprise! The Ancenis statue had not been sent for casting, as had been rumoured. It had simply been taken to a safe place by local residents. The tufa stone statue, sculpted by Benon at the time, was thus attributed to Liré, its original commune. On 24 August 1974, Liré was reunited with its “child”.