Marseilles/Provence/La Sainte Baume

Spend 4 days on a spiritual journey to La Sainte Baume,

Saintes Marie de la Mer, Marseilles, Aix-en-Provence,

and the Cote d’Azur region of France.

This transformational journey explores the history and

artifacts of Mary Magdalene and her companions who

settled in Provence, France.

Itinerary for Monday

Monday

6:30 am Depart from Lugano

8:55 am Depart Milan Linate

1:10 Layover/Paris

12:45 pm Arrival Marseilles

2:00 pm Check in Hotel Beauvau

Beautiful Grand Hotel Beauvau Marseille Vieux Port MGallery

This city center hotel, one of the leading hotels in Marseilles, is an exceptional place decorated in Provençal hues and an ideal

base to discover the south of France. The elegant building with rounded and curved architecture, the vibrant colors of the

textiles and period Louis Philippe and Napoleon III furnishings pay homage to the art, history and crafts of sunny Provence.

From the bar of the Grand Hôtel Beauvau, you can admire the azure blue panorama. Rue Beauvau, opposite the hotel's

entrance, is one of the oldest roads in the city, where guests can experience the lively atmosphere of Marseilles and the

picturesque charm of the city's history. The Old Port at the end of La Canebière is the true heart of the 200-year-old city of

Marseilles. In the distance, Notre Dame de la Garde rises above this exceptional Mediterranean city together with the

legendary and captivating Château d'If. Since 1816, the Grand Hôtel Beauvau has welcomed famous and lesser known guests

for chic, romantic or historic stays. From George Sand, Lamartine and Mérimée to Frédéric Chopin and Paganini, this charming

Marseilles hotel has pampered all these inspiring guests.

Itinerary for Tuesday

Tuesday

9:30 am Arrive La Sainte Baume

Basilica of Mary Magdalene

12:00 pm Lunch

La Sainte Baume Caves

4:00 pm Return Hotel Beauvau

Pilgrimage to La Sainte Baume, the Basilica of Mary Magdalene, and the Mary Magdalene Caves

The Basilica of Mary Magdalene

Construction of the basilica, begun in 1295, was complete as to

the crypt when it was consecrated in 1316. In it were installed

a Gallo-Roman funerary monument—of the 4th century in

fact—and four marble sarcophagi, whose bas-reliefs permit a

Christian identification. The Black Death in 1348, which carried

away half the local population, interrupted the building

campaign, which was not taken up again until 1404, but found

the sixth bay of the nave complete by 1412. Work continued

until 1532, when it was decided to leave the basilica just as it

was, without a finished west front or portal or belltowers,

features that it lacks to this day. The plan has a main apse

flanked by two subsidiary apses. Its great aisled nave is without transept. The nave is flanked by sixteen

chapels in the aisles.

The Mary Magdalene Caves at

La Sainte Baume

The French tradition of Saint Lazare of

Bethany is that Mary Magdalene, her

brother Lazarus, and Maximinus, one

of the Seventy Disciples and some

companions, expelled by persecutions

from the Holy Land, traversed the

Mediterranean in a frail boat with

neither rudder nor mast and landed at

the place called Saintes-Maries-de-la-

Mer near Arles. Mary Magdalene

came to Marseille and converted the

whole of Provence. Magdalene is said

to have retired to a cave on a hill by

Marseille, La Sainte-Baume ("Holy

Cave", baumo in Provençal), where

she gave herself up to a life of

penance for thirty years. The cave is

now a Christian pilgrimage site.

Itinerary for Wednesday

Wednesday

10:00 am Saintes Marie de la Mer

Church of Saintes Marie de la Mer

Two Holy Marys, Jacobe and Salome

12:00 PM Lunch

2:00 PM Tarascon

Collégiale Sainte Marthe

4:00 pm Return Hotel Beauvau

The two Holy Maries, Sara the Black Virgin and Saint Martha

The town of Saintes Marie de la Mer is the place where landed the

boat without sail and oars carrying Mary Magdalene, Martha, her

sister, Lazarus, her brother, Maximin, the Saints Marie Jacobe and

Salome and their fellow sufferers, driven out of Palestine after the

death of Christ.

This tour allows you to discover places where lie the relics of Saints

Mary Jacobe and Mary Salome and their servant, Sarah, the Black

Madonna.

The church of Saintes Marie de la Mer welcomes every year in May

the community of Gypsies who come to pay tribute to Sara, their

patron saint. The Two Holy Marys, Jacobe and Salome, whose relics, discovered by King Rene in 1448 and based in

the church, are celebrated in May but also in October.

The morning will be spent visiting the church and the city.

In the afternoon you will be driven to Tarascon. Early on, the city

became a very famous place of pilgrimage, it occurred there many

miracles. The visit begins with the Collégiale Sainte Marthe, one of

the most famous sanctuaries of Provence with the chapel housing

the shrine of Saint Martha’s relics, a copy of the one offered by

Louis XI. Then a stroll around the town makes you appreciate the

important heritage

from the past: many

mansions, the castle of

King René, the lair of

the famous monster

“Tarasque”, the

Franciscan monastery

and space "Tartarin of

Tarascon. "

Itinerary for Thursday

Thursday

8:30 am Depart

10:00 am Abbaye du Thoronet

The Thoronet Abbey

12:00 PM Lunch

2:00 PM Cotignac

Our Lady of Graces

Saint Joseph’s Sanctuary

5:00 pm Return Hotel Beauvau

The Thoronet Abbey, Our Lady of Graces and Saint Joseph’s sanctuary

Oldest of the three Cistercian sisters of Provence, the Thoronet abbey is a jewel of the Romanesque Art. Nestled in

a middle of an oak forest, it provides a stark beauty conform to St Benoit’s monastic ideal. Its extreme sobriety, the

purity of its lines and the simplicity of the volumes make the abbey a

masterpiece of Romanesque architecture.

In the afternoon, in the village of Cotignac (unique place in the world

where the whole Holy family

appeared), you could discover the

sanctuary where Our Lady appeared

to Jean de la Baume on Mount

Verdaille in 1519. Mary invited to

come in procession to receive the

graces she wants to give here.

A century later, in 1660, St. Joseph

was manifested on Mount Bessillon.

He appeared to a shepherd,

Gaspard Ricard who was

desperately thirsty while

tending his flock. Gaspard saw a

man on a rock that said, "I am Joseph, lift this rock and you will drink."

Gaspard easily removed the heavy rock alone and found a spring and

drank from it. Living water is still a source of blessings.

Many people who received the graces (especially in the gift of life) came

in these places. Among them, an illustrate pilgrim, King Louis XIV, came

to thank Our Lady of Cotignac for his birth.

Itinerary for Friday

Friday

10:30 am Checkout

12:40 am Depart Marseilles

0:50 Layover/Paris

4:25 pm Arrival Milan Linate

Booking for the Marseilles/Provence/La Sainte Baume Excursion

Price:

$1875.00 solo single occupancy

$1287.50 per person shared double occupancy

Online: visit https://www.eveconsciousness.com/lugano/register.aspx

Phone: call +1 843 251 4282

Price of the excursion includes travel to the airport in Milan from Lugano, round trip airfare from Milan to Marseilles, four

nights at the Grand Hotel Beauvau Marseille Vieux Port MGallery, continental breakfast, a guided tour to the Basilica of Mary

Magdalene and the Mary Magdalene Caves in La Sainte Baume, a guided tour to view The two Holy Maries, Sara the Black

Virgin and Saint Martha in Saintes Marie de la Mer and Tarascon, and a guided tour to view the Thoronet Abbey, Our Lady of

Graces and Saint Joseph’s sanctuary in Thoronet and Cotignac. Lunch is included during the tours.