Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer

Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer

According to Provençal tradition, it was on this Camargue beach that, around AD 40, a boat without sail or oar came ashore, carrying Mary Magdalene, Martha, Lazarus, Mary Salome, Mary Jacobe and their servant Sara, driven out of Judea after the death of Christ. Mary Magdalene is said to have landed here before making for inland Provence and the cave of the Sainte-Baume, while Mary Salome and Mary Jacobe stayed on until their deaths — hence the name of the village, "Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer", the Holy Marys of the Sea. Sara, regarded as the patron saint of the Gypsies, is today the object of an immense Romani pilgrimage every 24 May, one of the largest Gypsy gatherings in Europe. The crypt is dedicated to Sara the Black, whose statue is carried into the sea each year by the Gypsy community during the great May pilgrimage.

Getting there : Free admission, admission charge for the crypt

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

Ambient sound