This monstrosity is Marseille’s cathedral. If it looks a little modern, it’s because it was built during the late-19th century boom.
This was built to signify France’s importance as a powerful trading partner with Asia. Built in eye-catching green and white stone stripes and a mix of Romanesque, Byzantine and Gothic styles, the cathedral oozes prosperity.
It’s a bit out of the way, next to the old commercial port. I spotted it from afar (well, it’s not easy to miss) and we walked all the way over only to find it closed.
The interior is supposedly as vast as St Peter’s in Rome. Okay. That’s pretty massive.
The current structure is the third to stand on this site. The first was a 5th-centry paleo-Christian cathedral and the second was 12th-century La Vieille Major.
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