posted on 2017-06-30, 00:00authored byG. Massiot & cie
This ornate Neo-Byzantine church is situated at the highest natural point in Marseille, a 162 m (532 ft) limestone outcrop on the south side of the Old Port. Adjoining the church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, who is supposed to protect sailors, Esp\u00E9randieu built a watchtower surmounted by a monumental statue in an almost military style, which harmonizes with the remains of a 16th century fort that serves it as a base. The square bell-tower of 41m (135 feet) is surmounted by a belfry of 12.5m (42 feet) which itself supports a monumental, 11.2m (27 feet) tall statue of the Madonna and Child by Eug\u00E8ne Lequesne made out of copper gilded with gold leaf. The crossing of the basilica is crowned by an elegant Romano-Byzantine dome with refined polychrome geometrical decoration outside and mosaics inside completed by Henri-Antoine R\u00E9voil (1820-1900), who succeeded Esp\u00E9randieu as architect to Marseille Cathedral.
History
Alt Title
Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde Marseille
Date Created
1910-01-01
Date Modified
2017-06-30
Spatial Coverage
Marseilles, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
+43.284028+5.371111
Marseilles
Temporal Coverage
before or circa 1910
Cultural Context
['Byzantine Revival', 'Nineteenth century']
Rights Statement
To view the physical lantern slide, please contact the Architecture Library.