or have been elevated to the rank of Minor Basilica, date from this period, and are among the finest architectural works of France. There are also numerous village churches, many of which have remained little changed. Characteristics Large churches of northern have basilical form of nave and aisles separated by arcades. Large churches of southern France may be without aisles, as at Angouleme Cathedral. Churches generally have transepts. The eastern end often takes the form of an apse that is almost as high as the walls. The high apse was increasingly surrounded by an ambulatory and later Romanesque churches have a fully developed chevet with radiating chapels. In Normandy, two towers on the façade flanking the nave became standard for large churches and influenced the subsequent Romanesque and Gothic facades of Northern France, England, Sicily and other buildings across Europe. At the Abbey Church of Cluny, as well as paired towers on the west front, there was a variety of towers large and small. Of these the octagonal tower over the crossing and smaller transept tower remain intact. This arrangement was to influence other churches such as the Basilica of St. Sernin, Toulouse. Windows are increasingly of larger size and are often coupled, particularly in cloisters and towers. The façade takes two forms, that with two large towers, such as that at Saint-Etienne, Caen, and the screen form with two small flanking turrets, as at Angouleme Cathedral. There are often three portals, as at the Abbey of la Trinité, Caen, left Façade decoration is rich and varied, with the central portal being the major feature. Large sculptured portals are a distinguishing feature of French Romanesque. The portal is deeply recessed and the jambs set with shafts and mouldings. They typically have lintels, supporting a tympanum carved in high relief. Interiors generally employed piers to support the arcades, rather than columns. The form of the piers became increasing complex with shafts and mouldings leading into the mouldings of the arch, or the vault as at Saint-Etienne Nevers. left In the 12th century, cylindrical piers with Corinthian style capitals came into use. A pattern of three stages—vault, arcade and clerestory—was established in the 11th century. Masonry vaults were preferred for larger churches, and were initially barrel or groin vaults, often with arches spanning the nave between the vaults. Vaulted bays are square. The earliest ribbed high vault in France is at Saint-Etienne,