La Charité sur Loire, Cluny"s site and city of the old book, is 9km from the Cuvellerie.

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La Charité-sur-Loire has developed around a Cluny priory and two churches built by the monks in 1059, all protected by the ramparts. The Notre-Dame, the largest in Europe after that of the abbey of Cluny, is built from the eleventh century. The Benedictin Prieuré is quickly becoming one of the most beautiful, richest and most prestigious in Europe. Pope Paschal II in 1107 enshrines the [4]. It has nearly 400 outbuildings throughout the Christian world to the gates of the Holy Land to Constantinople. Today remains the choir and the apse of the monastery prioral.

The founding charter of the priory, as well as more recent sources, including those of a monk writing in the twelfth century, expose the priory building conditions: the bishop of Auxerre Geoffrey of Champallement offer in 1059 to Abbot Hugh Cluny with the consent of the Count de Nevers William I and the Lord donor to the Walk, the buildings of an old church, ruined, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, with the lands controlled by them, in a place called "Neyr ".

The birth of the Prieuré de La Charity is part of a monastic reform movement inspired by the Abbey of Cluny and concerna then the whole Catholic Church at the instigation of Leo IX, pope from 1049 to 1054 and then Gregory VII, a former monk of Cluny, pope 1073 to 1085. the birth of Charity priory is part of this movement, the Cluny forming a cluniacensis ecclesia ( "Cluny church") headed by the mother abbey of Cluny that swarms in the region and beyond (England, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal, Germany) girls-abbeys and priories.

In the twelfth century, Charity reign of 45 monasteries and 400 outbuildings and denominations in France and throughout Europe.

Abbot Hugh of Cluny says the construction of the priory to Gérard de Cluny, lay brother of Nevers originally monk traveler and sometimes hermit, who also lived at times at the monastery of Saint-Sauveur Nevers. It was under his leadership that ground out the priory of La Charité which he entrusted the direction Vilencus, first prior of Charity so; himself withdrew to the priory of Joigny, where he became prior, however, before returning to finish his days in the priory of La Charité; He was buried Dec. 6, 1102 behind the high altar of the priory church.

The priory of La Charité swarms in England (after the conquest by William the Conqueror), Portugal, near Constantinople, occupying a prominent position among the dependencies of Cluny and justifying its nickname "eldest daughter of Cluny". In 1559, the priory suffered a serious fire; the Priory Church is summarily refitted as priory of Robert de Lenoncourt (1538-1551).