Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Saint-Maximin

Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume

Regarded as the "third tomb of Christendom," this basilica was built from 1295 on the order of Charles II of Anjou after the 1279 rediscovery of the relics of Mary Magdalene, hidden since the 8th century to protect them from Saracen invasions. Its crypt holds four 4th-century Paleochristian sarcophagi as well as a gilded reliquary containing the saint's presumed skull, carried in procession through the town's streets every 22 July. A more intimate relic, called "Noli me tangere" (a fragment of forehead skin, detached during an examination in 1789), is kept separately under a crystal tube. A bone from the saint's leg is said to have been transferred in the 11th century to Vézelay, in Burgundy.

Getting there : Free access, crypt included

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound