The Abbey of Montmajour

Description

Built in the heart of the Arles region, Montmajour Abbey encompasses eight centuries of architectural history: a primitive Carolingian monastery, partly troglodytic, flanked by a rock necropolis; a two-level Romanesque abbey church; a medieval pilgrimage chapel; a tower fortified during the Hundred Years' War; and finally, the grandiose ruins of a classical monastery with a refined, almost urban design. Perched on the side of a rock on a former desert island, it overlooks the entire Arles marshland in a site whose wild grandeur and meditative atmosphere particularly fascinated Van Gogh.