NOTRE-DAME-DE-LA GARDE Home Page An Astonishing Architectural Style... ...And Astonishing Particularities Our Lady of the Guard in numbers "Our Good Mother" from all directions Let's go Inside... A story of abiding tenacity living Faith To Welcome You FORUM A few books

Why wouldn't this "shock" have an esthetic and spiritual value ? And what if this style were exactly where it should be here ? Another example of this style in Marseilles : the "Major" cathedral, on the warfs. In Paris the Sacred Heart Basilica of Montmartre, also built at about the same time as our Lady of the Guard (second half of the 19th century) in the Romanesque-Byzantine style, is controversial as well. One may indeed argue that the choice of the Romanesque-Byzantine style was less justifiable in the case of the basilica of Montmartre than for Our Lady of the Guard. For among the few large edifices belonging to this mixed style, Our Lady of the Guard can claim a special place which is hers alone, owing to the visual power with which the Romanesque-Byzantine style was used (in particular, the height of the tower compared to the rest of the edifice).