The abbey, which is a true witness to Provençal Romanesque art, was built between the end of the 12th century and the beginning of the 13th on an older site. Classified as a historic monument since 1886,the monastery owes its construction to the powerful Abbey of Saint-Victor.
It is an asymmetrical building composed of several buildings organized around a rectangular courtyard.
The Convent de la Madeleine de Saint-Maximin is a Dominican convent founded in 1279 with the aim of making it a place of devotion to Mary Magdalene, whom ancient traditions place in these lands during her last years of life.
The church was built in 1295 on the crypt housing the remains of Mary Magdalene, making this church of her the third tomb of Christianity in terms of importance. The church also harbors several treasures, including the reliquary which houses the skull of Marie-Madeleine, the crypt and its 4 sarcophagi, the choir and its 94 stalls, the altarpiece by Antoine Ronzen with its 16 panels of the Passion of the Christ, and the organs of the basilica composed of 2692 pipes.
This hermitage dates back to the 12th century, and it is still inhabited by a dozen monks. The Montrieux Monastery is built on the eastern foothills of Sainte-Baume.
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