Rocamadour, Quercy

Rocamadour, Quercy BY PIERRE ON 20 JULY MIDI-PYRÉNÉES, UNESCO SITES, VILLAGES OF FRANCE When coming from Cahors by road, Rocamadour suddenly appears clinging precariously against the cliff above the Alzou canyon. One of the most famous villages of Europe, Rocamadour seemingly defies the laws of gravity. The vertiginous Citadel of Faith is best summed up by an old local saying: “houses on the river, churches on the houses, rocks on the churches, castle on the rock”. In the 12th century, on days of atonement, 30,000 people thronged to Rocamadour to pay tribute to the Black Virgin, amongst them kings, bishops and nobles. Now a village of 693 inhabitants, Rocamadour welcomes 1.5 million visitors each year and ranks as France’s most visited tourist attraction after Mont-Saint-Michel. Rocamadour is situated in the Lot département in Southern France. The village is found at the heart of the Haut-Quercy, a former province of France, between Brive-la-Gaillarde and Cahors. Rocamadour is close to other regional highlights such as Sarlat-la-Canéda in Périgord, the Dordogne Valley, the beautiful villages of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, Turenne, Collonges-la-Rouge, Carennac and Saint-Céré, and the fantastic caves of Padirac, Lacave, and Perch-Merle. The village is found at the heart of the Haut-Quercy, a former province of France, between Brive-la-Gaillarde and Cahors. Rocamadour is close to other regional highlights such as Sarlat-la-Canéda in Périgord, the Dordogne Valley, the beautiful villages of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, Turenne, Collonges-la-Rouge, Carennac and Saint-Céré, and the fantastic caves of Padirac, Lacave, and Perch-Merle. The site of Rocamadour includes the village of L’Hospitalet on the plateau and down to the Alzou Valley the actual village of Rocamadour with the Shrine and its castle atop the cliff. The village of Rocamadour is limited to the West by the Porte Basse (Lower Gate) near the mill of Moulin de Roquefraîche and to the East by the Porte du Figuier (Fig-tree Gate). The main street is linked to the Shrine by the Great Staircase or a public lift which also leads to the castle on the plateau. A Brief History of Rocamadour Cave paintings found in the surrounding cliffs of the Alzou Valley demonstrate that the site of Rocamadour has been inhabited for a long time. Legend has it that the origin of the pilgrimage was Zacchaeus who would have withdrawn to this wild spot in the Quercy. It is likely that a little oratory was erected there after the Council of Ephesus by the Benedictine monks of Marcilhac-sur- Célé. It is believed that in the 4th century, the hermit Amadour was the first to preach the gospel in the region. He spent many years in the Alzou Valley which was then called the “Tenebrous Valley” before being buried in the site of the present-day shrine. In 968, the bishop of Cahors signed the donation act of Rocamadour’s chapel to the Saint Martin Abbey of Tulle. The Benedictine seal – the Virgin featuredin a mandorle (almond shape), would later become the pilgrim’s emblem known as the “sportelle”. In 1105, Pope Pascal II mentioned the pilgrimage to the Madonna of Rocamadour. The renown of the pilgrimage site became one of the four holy places of Christendom along with Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela. Géraud d’Escorailles, abbot of Saint-Martin of Tulle, had a sanctuary built in Rocamadour in 1152 that could welcome the crowds of pilgrims. The fame of Rocamadour was greatly reinforced when in 1166 the well-preserved body of a hermit, thought to be St. Amadour, was discovered in front of the Notre-Dame oratory. Rocamadour took its name from the hermit: Roc Amadour – the rock of Amadour. In 1172, the Benedictine monks started writing the Book of Miracles in which 126 miracles were authenticated. Rocamadour became an autonomous village by the decree of Bernard de Ventadour in 1223. Economic activity increased around the Benedictine priory and the “Charter for the Uses and Customs” was implemented. When King Louis IX (Saint-Louis) made the pilgrimage to Rocamadour in 1244 with his mother Blanche of Castille and his brothers in order to request France’s happiness, the pilgrimage took on a national dimension. At the peak of its glory, the shrine of Rocamadour included 19 churches (twelve of them have not been restored in the 19th century) and the castle on top of the cliff was fortified with three round towers. In 1562, during the Wars of Religion, the Northern Quercy was pillaged and the body of St Amadour burnt. In 1643, by the decree of King Louis XIII, the shrine of Rocamadour was handed back to the spiritual authority of the Cahors bishops. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the pilgrimage declined and suffered greatly from the French Revolution which saw the desecration of the shrine and its chapels. During the 19th century, many restorations were undertaken to return Rocamadour to its former glory and many priests were willing to help revitalise the pilgrimage. Between 1858 and 1872, Abbot Chevalt, an architect and pupil of Viollet- le-Duc, worked on the restoration of the Sanctuaries. The shrine of Rocamadour was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as part of the St. James’ Way pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. .

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