Collégiale Sainte-Marthe de Tarascon

Tarascon

In the boat of the legend, Martha is the active sister, the one who in the Gospel of Luke bustles about while Mary listens. Provençal tradition gives her Tarascon, and a feat: there she is said to have tamed the Tarasque, an amphibious monster of the Rhône, half dragon, half fish, which devoured passers-by, by sprinkling it with holy water and binding it with her girdle before handing it over to the inhabitants. In 1187 her body was "invented", that is to say found again, in a crypt of the town; the church consecrated ten years later, in 1197, was built over it, and the crypt still holds a marble sarcophagus of the 3rd-4th centuries which passes for hers, as well as the tomb of Jean de Cossa, seneschal of Provence to King René, carved around 1481 by Francesco Laurana. A later legend has it that Clovis came there to be cured of an illness. King René, count of Provence, founded in 1474 the games of the Tarasque, which still carry the monster through the streets at the end of June. Of the Romanesque building there remain the south doorway, with its colonnettes and its capitals of ancient inspiration, and the bell-tower; the nave, rebuilt in the 14th century, is Gothic. It is one of the few places in France where one can go down towards a tomb said to be apostolic.

Wikipédia — Collégiale Sainte-Marthe ↗

Getting there : Centre of Tarascon, boulevard du Roi-René, facing the castle (castle car park). Church open during the day, free entry; the crypt is reached by the stair from the choir.

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

Ambient sound