The church ([Fig. 89]) is a very remarkable one. It was built in the twelfth century on the site of one destroyed by the Saracens, and consists of the usual single nave, having seven bays in its length, roofed with a pointed barrel vault, and finished with an eastern apse. Externally the whole building is surmounted with a crenellated and machicolated parapet, and presents the appearance of a strong fortification, with a keep tower rising above the eastern end. The latter includes the apse, which comprises three chapels, one over the other. The lowest, or crypt, contains the tomb of Sarah; the middle apse forms the choir of the church; while above this there rises a third chapel in the tower above the roof, containing the relics of the “Saintes Maries.” Rudely sculptured lions adorn the south entrance door, and in the nave there is a well, to supply water to the congregation, who would likewise form the garrison in case of siege. This remarkable structure may be regarded as a typical example of the defensive style so much practised in the South-West of France.
FIG. 89.
CHURCH OF LES SAINTES MARIES. (From Révoil.)
Marseilles.—Few relics are preserved in this ancient city of its Roman or mediæval structures; of the latter the most remarkable is the church of St Victor. We have here an instance of the partial adoption of the Gothic style in the South, and an attempt to combine Gothic details with Southern structural features. This curious church, which stands near the ancient port, is all that remains of the once extensive buildings of the famous monastery founded in the fifth century by St Cassien. Some portions of the primitive masonry are still to be seen in
FIG. 90. ST VICTOR, MARSEILLES.
the crypt. The buildings were several times destroyed by the Saracens, but they were finally rebuilt in their existing form about the year 1350 by Pope Urban V. (formerly abbot of this monastery), who also caused to be erected the great square towers and crenellated parapets which give the building externally the appearance of a fortress ([Fig. 90]). Some relics of the early Romanesque work are still visible in the entrance porch. The general design of the interior ([Fig. 91]) is that of a basilica, with central nave and side aisles, the former roofed with a pointed tunnel vault strengthened with transverse ribs, and originally without a clerestory, although openings have more recently been cut in the vault. These general dispositions are common in Provençal architecture. But the details of the nave piers, with their numerous small shafts and foliated caps and bases are all borrowed from the Gothic of the North; while the tomb erected in the west-most bay of the south aisle ([Fig. 92]) is a completely Northern design.