Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
making a space so people could step back and get a perspective on such a beautiful build-
ing. A clutter of houses snuggled right up to the church's stout walls, and only in the 19th
century were things cleared away. Just in the last few years the cars were also cleared out
(another triumph for pedestrians).
Why so many bricks? Because there were no stone quarries nearby. Albi is part of a
swath of red-brick towns from here to Toulouse (nicknamed “the pink city” for the way its
bricks dominate that townscape). Notice on this square the buffed brick addresses next to
the sluggish stucco ones. As late as the 1960s, the town's brickwork was considered low-
class andwascovered bystucco. Today,the stucco isbeing peeled away,andAlbi hasthat
brick pride going on again.
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Ste. Cécile Cathedral (Cathédrale Ste. Cécile)
When the heretical Cathars were defeated in the 13th century, this massive cathedral was
the final nail in their coffin. Big and bold, it made it clear who was in charge. The impos-
ing exterior and the stunning interior drive home the message of the Catholic (read: “uni-
versal”) Church in a way that would have stuck with any medieval worshipper. This place
oozes power—get on board, or get run over.
