The South of France—East Half

by C. B. Black

Le Puy. The Cathedral.

36 m. S.W. by rail from St. Etienne, 89½ m. from Lyons, and 33 m. S.E. from St. George d’Aurac junction, on the line between Clermont and Nîmes (see maps, pp. [26] and [46]), is

[Le Puy,]

pop. 20,000, from 2000 to 2250 ft. above the sea, between the rivers Borne and Dolezon, affluents of the Loire, 2 m. from the town. [Hotels:] Ambassadeurs; Europe; Nord. To visit Le Puy, the best plan is to begin with the [Cathedral]. From the high side of the Place de Breuil, at the N.W. corner, ascend by the streets St. Gilles, Chenebouterie, and Raphaél, to the Place des Tables, with a stone pinnacle fountain in the centre. From this ascend by the R. des Tables to the flight of 40 steps, leading up to the tetrastyle portico in front of the church. Forty-one more steps lead up through this portico to the portal of the west façade of the church, built up in the 18th cent., and having against it an altar to Mary. The oblong flat stone at the base of the table of the altar belonged to a dolmen which stood on this hill from the earliest times, and is called the “Pierre aux fièvres,” from its once supposed power of curing of fever those who lay upon it.

From this altar a flight of 27 steps ascends to the left, to the cloisters, while the flight to the right of 32 steps ascends to one of the two south side entrances into the church. The other south side entrance, called the Porte du Fort, 12th cent., presents an extraordinary composition of the florid Byzantine style. On one side of it is the square belfry in 5 stages, commenced in the 11th cent., on the other is the bishop’s palace, and in front a small terrace. At the north side of the church is the Porte St. Jean, 12th cent., preceded by an arch of 28 ft. span. The cloisters are in the form of an oblong square, with 9 arches on the long sides, and five on the short, supported on square piers with attached colonnettes. The south side is the earliest, beginning of the 10th cent., and the western the most recent. The church, built in 550, received a succession of alterations up to 1427, when it was injured by an earthquake. In 1846 it was repaired and restored. The interior consists of eight square compartments, each, excepting the 7th, covered with a dome resting on four massive piers. Above the 7th rises an octagonal lantern tower. Under it is the high altar, with a replica of the miracle-working image,[*] brought from Cairo in 1251, and presented to the church of Le Puy by Saint Louis in 1254, but destroyed in the Revolution of 1793, when, according to the marble tablet on the pier of this compartment, 20 priests of the diocese were

executed at the same time by the same party. On the south wall a large picture represents a numerous concourse of church and civic dignitaries carrying in procession the original image to make it stay the plague, which raged in Le Puy in 1660. The picture opposite represents the Consuls of Le Puy, attired in red, thanking the image for its protection. In the sacristy is the Théodulfe Bible, 9th cent. Near the north portal is the baptistery of St. Jean, built in the 4th cent, on the foundations of a Roman edifice.

[* ] The original image was of cedar, with the face, both of it and of the child, painted black. It was 2 ft. 3 in. high, and weighed 25 lbs. The form was rudely carved, stiff and Egyptian like, and the members of both were swathed in two plies of linen.

Le Puy: Notre Dame de France.

From Saint Jean commences the ascent of the Rocher Corneille, a mass of volcanic breccia, which forms the summit of Mount Podium. On the top is the image of [Notre Dame de France], 433 ft. above the Hôtel de Ville, and 2478 ft. above the sea. It was unveiled on the 27th September 1860, was made from 213 cannons taken at Sebastopol, is 52½ ft. high, and weighs 2165 cwt. The foot is 6 ft. long, the hands 5 ft., and the hair 22 ft. The circumference of the head of the child, J. C., is 14 ft. In the interior of the image a spiral stair of 90 steps leads up to the shoulders, whence an iron ladder of 16 steps extends to the crown of her head. From little openings in this colossal figure are most enchanting views. From the orifice in her right side is seen (2½ m. N.W.) the village of Polignac, likewise on a hill 2645 ft. above the sea, clustering round its old castle. Immediately below is the Aiguilhe, and to the left, 1¼ m. S.E., Ours Mons.

On a projecting part of the rock is, in a kneeling posture, looking up to Notre Dame de France, the figure of Bishop Morlhon, b. 1799, d. 1861, one of the principal promoters of the statue. Bonnassieux is the sculptor of both of them.