Page 318 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

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BASILIQUE

STE- MADELEINE

EXPERIENCE Burgundy and Franche-Comté visible from afar. Today, tourists follow in the footsteps of medieval pilgrims,
! E3 ⌂ Vézelay £ Sermizelles # 7am–8pm daily ∑ basiliquedevezelay.org
The golden glow of Vézelay’s hilltop abbey church, Basilique Ste-Madeleine, is
ascending the narrow street up to this magnificent abbey. In the 12th century,
at the height of its glory, pilgrims flocked here to venerate relics believed to
be those of Mary Magdalene.
The Basilique Ste-Madeleine was an important
and Gothic choir. Some of the most exquisite
carvings are to be found in the narthex, added
stopping point for pilgrims en route to Santiago
to the nave in 1150 to accommodate the
de Compostela in Spain. It declined during the
16th century and suffered in the Wars of
growing number of pilgrims. The tympanum
Religion and French Revolution. A Franciscan
over the central portal bears a splendid
community has now been re-established and
his hands, from which rays of light descend
pilgrims once again come to pay respects to
on to the apostles.
the relics of Mary Magdalene, kept in the
atmospheric Romanesque crypt. The main draw
Superlatively carved, too, are the capitals in
the narthex and nave, vividly rendering stories
though for most visitors is the Romanesque carving of Christ on his throne, stretching out
church itself with its magnif cent sculpture from classical antiquity and the Bible.
Tour St-Michel
derives its name
from the statue
The restored façade in the tower’s
dates from 1150 and southwest corner.
has a large 13th-
century window.
WHAT ELSE TO SEE
IN VÉZELAY
Because of the abbey's
importance, many
pilgrims on the the
road to Santiago de
Compostela stayed in
the charming hilltop
village of Vézelay. Look
down and you’ll see
shells inlaid in the
roads – a symbol of the
French pilgrims as they
journeyed south. Next
to the basilica, Maison
Jules-Roy invites
visitors into the home of
the writer; its gardens
also offer lovely views
of the surround ing
countryside and The tympanum, The narthex is a
the River Cure. showing Christ gathering point
on his throne for processions.
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