Our Lady of Assumption Church

The facade, which came from the quarries of La Couronne, near Martigues, was severely damaged by erosion due to the sea air, and was restored at the same time as the interior of the church from 1971 to 1975.

The building is 44 metres long by 25 metres wide and 22.5 metres high.
The building has three irregular naves, without a marked transept.

The building is in a very sober Romanesque style, recognisable by the semicircle of its vaults and openings, the external buttresses and the massiveness of its walls and pillars.
Each of its pillars covers an area of 9m2 with walls up to 2 metres thick.
It is a remarkably sober building with three naves of four bays each, cross-vaulted, with semi-circular arches and massive square pillars.

The Romanesque door on the west façade was created during this restoration. It dates from 1972 and is the work of the architect Massé. A beautiful Romanesque rose window can be admired.
The beautiful door on the south façade is called the Consular Door. It was the door through which the mayors and consuls entered.
The frame of this door, made of stone from La Couronne, was sculpted by Jean Lenfant around 1616.
The solid walnut door is recent (1975) but reproduces the old doorframe.

In the background on the left is a marble statue of Notre Dame de Bon Voyage which comes from the former Capuchin convent.

In the 18th century, the Church was enriched by its high altar, the work of the Marseilles marble worker Fossati. It is remarkable for the variety of its marbles. The woodwork in the choir is made of walnut and dates from 1649.
Above the high altar, you can see an Assumption, the work of the statuary Millefaut. It measures 3.15 metres. The very sensitive movements and the purity of the lines of the sculpture should be noted.
In the middle, on the right, there is a Descent from the Cross by the Flemish painter Finsonius (1580-1632). The painting is dated 1615.

The carved wooden frame is the work of a sculptor from La Ciotat. It bears the inscription: Manoyer Fecit 1786.

The organs, recently restored, come from Les Accoules in Marseille and were donated in 1663.

The stained glass windows and the rose window in the pediment are remarkable. The Stations of the Cross, made of fabric, was created by Madame Lorosière and donated in 1976.
The texts are by Paul Claudel.

The mural frescoes created in 1975 are the work of the La Ciotat painter Ganteaume.
These frescoes are an evocation of our present world and more particularly of our town in the Church. On a triptych, the painter evokes the Liberation, then the Redemption and finally the Resurrection.

At the back of the Church, on either side of the porch, two paintings by Tony Roux, a painter from La Ciotat, representing Man and Woman.

Accessible for disabled

Show less