Solesmes, a city world famous for hosting the community of Benedictine monks, flourishes in the department of Sarthe, 48 kilometers from Le Mans. Nestled on the borders of Haut-Maine and Maine angevin, the village owes its reputation to the famous Gregorian chants of the Benedictine monks. The history of the two abbeys occupying the commune and that of the village have always been closely linked. The priory, whose construction is estimated at 1010, would go back to eight centuries before the installation in 1833 of the Benedictine order in this place. The origin of the name of the town attributed to the bishop of Chartres, Saint-Solemnus, who died in 507, foreshadows the existence of the village well before that date. The village was mainly inhabited by boatmen and merchants while the monks cultivated the fertile lands. It floats like an air of holiness in Solesmes, but also of mystery about its exact origins. Bordered by the Sarthe, the village continues to unveil its history and archaeological excavations are still in progress.