Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
paella fuel chaotic crowds of carnivalesque guitarists, dancers and mounted cowboys.
Stes-Maries de la Mer has a sea-front village
arena
where bullfights and
courses Camar-
guaises
are held.
THE STORY OF THE MARYS & GITAN
PILGRIMAGES
Catholicism first reached European shores in what's now tiny Stes-Maries de la Mer. The stories say that Stes
Marie-Salomé and Marie-Jacobé (and some say Mary Magdalene) fled the Holy Land in a little boat and were
caught in a storm, drifting at sea until washing ashore here.
Provençal and Catholic lore diverge at this point: Catholicism relates that Sara, patron saint of the
gitans
(Roma
Gitano people, also known as gypsies), travelled with the two Marys on the boat. Provençal legend says Sara was
already here and was the first person to recognise their holiness. In 1448, skeletal remains said to belong to Sara
and the two Marys were found in a crypt in Stes-Maries de la Mer.
Gitans
continue to make pilgrimages,
Pèlerinage des Gitans
, here on 24 and 25 May (often staying for up to
three weeks), dancing and playing music in the streets, and parading a statue of Sara through town. The Sunday in
October closest to the 22nd sees a second pilgrimage dedicated to the two Stes Maries;
courses Camarguaises
are
also held at this time.
Sights & Activities
Stes-Maries de la Mer is fringed by 30km of fine-sand beaches, easily reached by bicycle.
Nudist beaches surround the Gacholle lighthouse off the Digue à la Mer (
Click here
)
.
CHURCH
Église des Stes-Maries
(place de l'Église)
This 12th- to 15th-century church with its dark, hushed, candle wax-
scented atmosphere draws legions of pilgrim Roma to venerate the statue of black Sara,
their highly revered patron saint, during the
Pèlerinage des Gitans
(
Click here
)
. The rel-
ics of Sara, along with those of Stes Marie-Salomé and Marie-Jacobé, all found in the
crypt by King René in 1448, are enshrined in a painted wooden chest, stashed in the stone
wall above the choir. From the church's
rooftop terrace
(€2), a panorama unfolds.
Sleeping
Most places function April to October.
