BASILICA OF THE SEA BREAM

Notre-Dame la Daurade is probably the oldest Marian sanctuary in France. The first church of Visigothic origin was built over a pagan temple and decorated with golden mosaics, hence its nickname "Daurade". Since the Council of Ephesus, it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary Mother of God. In the seventh century, Benedictine monks took over the place, from where they were driven out by the Revolution. The priory depended on the abbey of Moissac, a key stage of the roads to Santiago. A Romanesque masterpiece, its cloister was destroyed in the 19th century and replaced by the École des Beaux-Arts next door. As for the Romanesque church, it was destroyed in 1760 and a new project was entrusted to the architect Saget, who was very ambitious since he wished to include in the development of the quays of the Garonne a building inspired by St. Peter's in Rome! The austere stone façade and its colonnade attest to this.

Notre-Dame la Noire. As early as the 10th century, veneration of the protector of future mothers. Protector of the city, the original statue was stolen in the 14th century and then reproduced identically before being burned by the revolutionaries. Note the ex-votos on the walls. Chapel of the Adoring Angels and Chapel of the Black Virgin by Gaston Virebent. To see: its treasure and its superb wardrobe.

Today, the interior decor has been restored to its former glory after three years of restoration between 2017 and 2019. Marian cycle of seven paintings by Joseph Roques (1810-1820) in the apse. Classified organs.

Here lies the Occitan poet Peire Goudouli.