Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. It lies on the river Sarthe from Alençon, the chef-lieu of the department, and some west of Paris. History The place is named for Serenicus (or Genericus), an Italian hermit who lived here during the 7th century. Known today as Saint Céneri, the Italian monk is reputed to have settled here after a long journey, when he experienced a miracle in answer to his prayer for water to quench his thirst. According to legend the so-called miraculous spring, located near the banks of the River Sarthe and today covered by a small stone shelter topped with a cross, sprang up in answer to his prayer. It came to be believed that water from the spring had the ability to cure eye problems. When he died, a monastery was built, later destroyed by the Vikings in 903. The church was a dependency of the abbey of Saint-Evroult-en-Ouche. The name le-Gérei comes from William Giroie, who built a castle here in 1044 of which only parts of the walls remain today. In 1060 the castle came under siege from Duke William II of Normandy (the future King William I of England) before being taken by Robert Curthose his son in 1088. During the Hundred Years' War, Ambroise de Loré managed to defend the stronghold against the king of England Henry V and, then his brother John Plantagenet until 1434. The beauty of the village's setting, in a wooded loop of the River Sarthe, has attracted and inspired many artists since the 19th century. Among the renowned painters who have been drawn to the village's beauty are Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet and Henri Harpignies. The popularity of the village was evidenced by the establishment of the Auberge des Sœurs Moisy, a hotel run by the Moisy sisters as an artists' retreat in the latter years of the 19th century. Today the inn on Rue de Dessous, which attracted Impressionist Painters for half a century between 1875 and 1908, is an art museum, the Auberge Des Souers Moisy Museum. The museum's most original feature is its celebrated Salle des Décapités, or Room of the Beheaded, which is decorated with an array of black, silhouetted heads drawn in profile. Pierre Renard, son of artist Mary Renard, recalled the process by which the profiles of artists of the time were created: "At nightfall, the