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Our Lady of the Guard, also known locally as "Good Mother" is a minor basilicas of the Catholic Church. It is located on a rocky peak of 149 meters south of the Old Port Marseille, elevated 13 meters through walls and foundations of an ancient fort.
The ravages of time but also those of man (the Second World War in particular) had indeed degraded the building both outside inside. Of major renovation work was committed in 2001, they lasted 3 years.
The originality of Notre Dame de la Garde is that it is a monument that belongs to the diocese of Marseilles. At the time of the 1905 Act, the majority of church properties were confiscated, returned to local churches and cathedrals in the state. But "The Good Mother" has escaped this distribution, because it was built on land belonging to the navy. When Navy decommissioning the site and wants to separate from the building, so it's the diocese of Marseilles who inherits. So, the Good Mother is not classified a historical monument and therefore receives no subsidy from the state.
In 1995, a windy Sunday, a stone three pounds fell from the tower, c is the alarm and, after an initial purge has increased by 400 kg of stone from the facade and extensive studies, it becomes clear that the Good Mother is very sick!
The problem is on the public square, the General Council is committed, and a week later, the city council has voted a subsidy. Individuals have rapidly contributed 12 to 13 million francs. Until the end of the restoration, "the source of donations will not dry up which is probably unique in terms of restoration of heritage .
Built by architect Henry Espérandieu in the Romano-Byzantine and dedicated June 5, 1864, it replaced a chapel of the same name built in 1214 and rebuilt in the fifteenth century. Built on the foundations of a fort built by the sixteenth century Francis I in 1536 to withstand the siege of Charles V, the basilica has two parts: a lower church, or crypt, carved into the rock and the Romanesque style, and- above a high church-style Romanesque Byzantine decorated with mosaics.
On top of a square tower 41 meters high topped itself a kind of tower of 12.5 meters which serves as a pedestal, stands a monumental statue of 11.2 feet of the Virgin and Child made of copper with gold leaf.
The stone used for construction, especially the green from near Florence, having proved sensitive to atmospheric corrosion, it was necessary to undertake from 2001 to 2008 a long and careful restoration.
In Marseille, Notre-Dame de la Garde is traditionally regarded by the public as the guardian and protector of the city.
The court offers a panoramic view throughout Liverpool, including Old Port,
la cathédrale de la Major,
Fort St Nicolas,
and surrounding hills.
Restoration also focused on the renovation of the mosaics, damaged during the Liberation by bullet holes and blackened over time by the smoke of candles.
The inside dimensions of the upper church are quite modest. The nave has a length of 32.7 m. and a width of 14 m. Each side chapel measuring 3.8 m. by 5.4 m. Inside the upper church is the triumph of the polychrome with magnificent mosaics and marble columns and pilasters with alternating red and white colors. If the white Carrara marble was needed, in contrast to the red choice was very difficult. The architect wanted a Espérandieu red shade to match the tiles and not too sharp with the white Carrara marble.
The mason Jules Cantini made the discovery at a place called "the beautiful stones" on the commune of La Celle near Brignoles (Var) of a deposit of red marble marbled yellow and white, receiving a fine polish, which agreed perfectly. For the upper parts is stucco, that is to say of reconstituted marble, which was adopted.
The mosaic ceilings and walls with the developed surface is about 1 200 m2 were conducted from 1886 to 1892 the company moved to Mora Nimes. The tiles that came from Venice, were manufactured by craftsmen at the top of their game. Each panel contains nearly 10,000 tiles per m2, accounting for about 12 million basilica plaid January-February cm2.
To restore the luster to the "Good Mother" inseparable symbol of the city, Marseille Michel Patrizio changed 10 000 damaged tiles. For the renovation is as perfect as possible, this little son of a craftsman who settled in Friuli in Marseille in 1903 drove home the Venetian manufacturers who supplied the base material during its construction in 1880. He said "these are the most beautiful mosaics world by the fineness of execution. "
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