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

- and because the Romanesque-Byzantine mixture is perfectly justified in a city which sprang from mixed ethnic backgrounds ! This monument was built on a high point from which it watches over a very old port created by Greeks (come not from Greece but from the Hellenic coast of Asia Minor), the " mare nostrum " , and the gate to the East, all at once. - Yes, the Romanesque-Byzantine style is an architectural combination which is a topic of discussion among specialists, and which surprises the visitors who have never seen it before. But this surprise is part of the charm of Our Lady of the Guard. As to the result of this mixture, it is also considered to be highly original and very special in the heritage of French monuments. So original and special that the term " Romanesque-Byzantine ", briefly mentioned in tourist guides, cannot be found in most dictionaries!