WINTER 2024

Cathedral © Dominique Viet, CRTL Occitainie
Ruins of the roman theatre © Tingra, Canva
Vital d’Ardengost (d.1334) of the pungent
epitaph: ‘Here lies a rose of the world, but no
longer a rose intact. She no longer perfumes,
but smells of what she should smell.’
Sculptors from Toulouse carved Sainte-Marie’s
66 magnificent choir stalls between 1523-51,
whose Renaissance humanistic view of the
universe includes sibyls, prophets, Christian
virtues, knights, imaginary beasts -- and an
abbot caning a naughty bare-bottomed monk.
St Bertrand is buried in his own chapel,
decorated with folksy 15th-century paintings of
his life. The last scene shows Pope Clement V.
Because of his importance, the painters made
him the size of the Jolly Green Giant.
Upstairs, the Treasury’s exquisite hoard includes
the alicorne, a ‘unicorn’ (actually a narwhal)
horn. Water filtered through it was considered a
sure-fire antidote for poisoning. In 1594 a band
of Huguenots under Corbeyran d’Aure stole it,
but even Corbeyran feared the vengeance of St
Bertrand, and he returned the horn in exchange
for amnesty.
Lastly in the nave don’t miss the tomb of
Hugues de Châtillon, the wealthy 14 th - century
bishop whose fine alabaster effigy lies on a slab
sculpted with 70 figures in a funerary procession.
The good thing about going in winter is you
can usually have it to yourself; the bad news
is the information centre and the nearby
Archaeology Museum are closed.
Third wonder of Gascony’ © Dominique Viet, CRTL Occitainie
An ancient shopping mall
Sainte Marie overlooks the excavated
sections of the ancient Lugdunum
Convenarum. Although the ruins are basically
foundations, it appears life in this town of
10,000 was pretty jammy 2000 years ago.
The forum temple (c. 15AD) is opposite the
school, by the Thermes du Forum, built about
the same period; you can make out the hot
and cold rooms (caldaria and frigidaria) and
much of the plumbing. Roman bathing was a
long-drawn-out social ritual, a place to talk
business and politics.
Across the D26 stood the commercial heart
of Lugdunum: a once-covered shopping mall
or Macellum, from 15 AD with 26 boutiques
paved with black and white mosaics. At over
500 square metres, it is among the largest
covered markets ever discovered in the
western Roman Empire. Towards the car park,
a raised circular sanctuary marked the main
crossroads. The municipal baths, the Thermes
du Nord complex, included an early sauna.
South of the Macellum, Lugdunum’s
Palaeochristian Basilica dates from the 5th
century, making it one of the oldest in
southern Gaul. It had a green, red and white
mosaic floor; it was used even after the
Merovingians trashed the place in 585.
Nearby, Saint-Julian was rebuilt in the 12th
century over the original cemetery chapel.
Little remains of the Roman theatre on the
slope—it was just too convenient to quarry.
Into the Valley of Goats
Valcabrère’s name, ‘valley of goats’ comes
from a trick pulled by the Vandals in 407 AD.
When they found Lugdunum too well defended
for their tastes, they gathered all the goats
they could find and tied torches to their horns,
and at night drove them towards the city
Basilique de Saint-Just © Père Igor via Wikimedia Commons
gate. Everyone rushed to ward off the attack,
leaving the other gates undefended for the
Vandals to waltz in and overturn the wagons,
break the windows and paint their names all
over the walls.
There’s one last must-see. Isolated in a field, the
12th-century Basilique de Saint-Just is a crazy
quilt of cannibalized Roman and Merovingian
stones. The portal was inspired by the Roman
models so near at hand and it features
an unusually pudgy Christ in Majesty and
Evangelists clutching their emblems. Serenely
elegant figures of Saints Stephen, Just, Pasteur
and Helen guard the door, under capitals
showing cartoonish scenes of their lives. If it’s
open, stand near the altar and sing a few notes:
the acoustics are well-nigh perfect.
visit-occitanie.com/en
46 | The Good Life France
The Good Life France | 47