Despite countless mutilations, the importance of the 11C Bec Hellouin abbey in the Middle Ages as a cultural and a religious centre is still visible. The old abbey-church was demolished in the 19C and the tower of St Nicholas is its largest remaining element. The immense new church was built in a wing of the abbey. The cloister is one of the first built in the Classical style in France with an Italianate terrace.