Cathedral of St. Mary Major
Description:
The Cathedral of St. Mary Major is a unique architectural monument located in the city of Marseille. It was built in the second half of the XIX century, between 1852 and 1893. It is comparable in size to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and has a capacity of 3,000 people. The cathedral is an extraordinary three-sided composition consisting of a monumental portico surrounded by two towers, as well as a magnificent huge nave with massive arches. During the construction of the temple, materials such as green stone brought from Florence, white marble from Carrara, onyx from Italy and Tunisia, and magnificent mosaics from Venice were used.
Upon completion of the construction of the temple, architect Antoine Henri Revel paid special attention to its external decoration - the walls of the cathedral are decorated with various mosaics and sculptures. The interior is made of porphyry and marble in the Byzantine style. The domes and balustrades are decorated with elements borrowed from the cathedrals of Siena and Lucca. Every year this place attracts thousands of tourists who want to see this majestic monument firsthand.
