Inaugurated in 2013, the Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde museum aims to highlight the heritage of this emblematic building in Marseille. New that visitors will be able to discover: temporary exhibitions which did not exist at the time of its creation and which could attract more curious people.
It is a symbol of the Phocaean city, to which the inhabitants hold as much as Olympique de Marseille. The Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde basilica, nicknamed the “Good Mother” by the people of Marseille, is one of the city’s emblematic places to visit. After three years of renovation, the museum of the religious building completed in 1864 has just reopened its doors. A place which extends over 300m² and which aims to restore the 800 years of history of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde to visitors.
Richer and more numerous temporary exhibitions will renew the proposals for the public each year. The museum is currently offering a stroll on the theme of the Nativity and the Provençal Christmas with several dozen figurines on loan from the Château-Gombert museum, but also nativity scenes, ornaments and chasubles used at Christmas. A discovery workshop located on the ground floor allows the visually and hearing impaired to find mediation facilities adapted to their disability.
Gather archives, models and testimonies
The museum revives the mediation devices that made it interesting: testimonies from the time of Marseillais, sound and audio archives, mosaics and above all detailed models. Among the themes addressed, the many pilgrimages to the “Good Mother” that have taken place over the centuries, especially in times of epidemics. “We go up to the Good Mother and on the way up, we take our place in the long chain of those who have gone up to Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde”explains Olivier Spinosa, rector of the sanctuary of the building.
The origins of the building, its reconstruction in the middle of the 19th century and the attachment of the inhabitants of Marseille to the holy place are also developed. Exploring the Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde museum also means coming across many ex votoofferings made in thanks for a grace obtained.
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The museum gives elements of the historical context of the basilica to which it is attached, a way for tourists to see more clearly during their visit. “I came to see the museum before going to see the basilica, so I can understand it better”summarizes a visitor.
Museum of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde : open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Marseille
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