"An architectural and symbolic approach

The Maison du Visiteur in Vézelay is offering visitors the chance to explore the Basilica of Saint Mary Magdalene outside its walls. An architectural and symbolic approach, before entering the building.
Before discovering the life-size Basilica of Saint Mary Magdalene in Vézelay, you can explore it in miniature. At the Maison du Visiteur, the team take an architectural and symbolic approach, explaining how the builders chose the site for this religious edifice, constructed between the 9th and 12th centuries and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

The Maison was the brainchild of two people with a passion for architecture and art history, and ten years' experience as guides in the basilica with the Franciscans," explains Hélène Ramin, the artistic director. These tours always raise a lot of questions. We wanted to open a place to answer them. The Maison du Visiteur was created in 2003.

Model of the Basilica

A model of the basilica is on display. It is accompanied by an installation that reproduces sunlight and its path through the basilica, according to the seasons. Sunlight is a partner in construction," explains Hélène Ramin. The builders chose the site by looking at where the sun rose and set. In the Middle Ages, farmers and builders worked by observing the sun, both for growing crops and for lighting. In the basilica, we can see that the best light is in winter. At Christmas time, the church is wonderfully bright.

The link with the sun is also symbolic. It was the mentality of the time: their feet were firmly planted on the ground, but they were familiar with the invisible," Hélène Ramin points out. The buildings were raised to the sky, to symbolise Christ and his influence on the world.

The Basilica of Vézelay is renowned for its close relationship with sunlight. At the summer and winter solstices, a path of light forms in the nave. It is reproduced in the Visitor Centre. "It's the feast of St John and the birth of Christ. The architecture echoes these great festivals.

The interpretation centre also displays reproductions of three of the 152 carved capitals and a plan of the religious building, which allows the guides to explain the methods and tools used by builders in medieval times. "There was no arithmetic, but they knew how to use measurements to establish harmonious proportions," says the artistic director, presenting compasses, rulers and other tools as an introduction to the site.

Mélanie Marois, theYonne Républicaine