ARLES—CONQUES

This report would normally start with the phrase: "Our traditional summer walk". However, I have to say that it will not be the case of this particular report. Although this summer walk can have been ordinary and traditional for a lot of my co-pilgrims who participated, it was not for me. The following paragraphs should still be a summary of our two-week experience, of all of us, not just me – the unexperienced walker.

Our group walked on the way from Arles to Conques. Firstly, it is necessary to name all the participants of this fifth summer walk. To the well experienced pilgrims who conquered 1540 kilometres during the four-month long pilgrimage last year were belonging Karolínka and Ivan, Sabi, Andulka, Favorit, and Adrien. As pilgrimage amateurs, there were Klárka, Peter and me. Nevertheless, we did not show at all that we were complete beginners, and we did not let this fact to bring shame on us for any second!

Our pilgrimage started in Marseille, or rather in its suburb. We indeed got there by plane and had the pleasure to enjoy the local airport, even sleeping there for a few hours. Thanks to these lovely moments, we immediately absorbed the atmosphere of southern France – but just indoors. It was an absolutely different world for me, for I was a complete newbie – not just in pilgrimage but also in the art history. I had never been to France before, and therefore, the country used to be for me just a land of a difficult language, baguettes, frog legs and their consumers, and of course the medieval heritage and the Mont-Saint-Michel.

Fortunately, after Marseille, we continued to Arles by train, where we really started to walk. The whole trip led us to Saint-Gilles-du-Gard and afterwards Nîmes. After Nîmes, we were fully immersed in the beautiful but exhausting landscape of the Parc National des Cévennes. Having arrived at the end of the nature reserve, to Millau, we decided – mainly for reasons of time – to "cowardly" hitchhike to our next stop – Rodez. With a newly loaded energy, we continued to the last bit of our journey to Conques, our desired goal! I am afraid that the space lacks here to speak about all the beautiful cities, villages and hamlets, we had passed. But I can at least mention some of them, such as Quissac, Marcillac-Vallon or Saint Christophe, and I must not forget to reference the finest village that we crossed, at least for me, called Gajan.

These two weeks were of course dedicated not just to sport, fresh air, good food and gaining energy. We tried to discover France mainly through the objects that we met during the walk, such as the church of Saint Trophime in Arles which touched us especially with its marvellous portal and its frontispiece with an imposing Maiestas Domini framed of a complex imagery. We also visited the Musée de l’Arles et de la Provence antiques and saw countless numbers of late antique and early medieval sarcophagi there. Leaving our first kilometres behind us, we entered the Benedictine church in Saint-Gilles-du-Gard, of which the crypt and especially the front façade were important. Not only the matters of pilgrimage was the main one in our discussions, but all these spaces reminded us the antiquity of the region, and how this antiquity – still very alive through the monuments – had been transformed and re-shaped creatively the Middle Ages.

With our stop in Nîmes, we were further confronted with the remains of Roman Antiquity. One of the best-preserved amphitheatres in the world provided a shade for our rest, while the so-called Maison Carrée – a remarkably preserved ancient Roman temple – showed us how a monument can be affected by medieval and 19th-century alterations. Eventually, after many more kilometres across landscapes and sometimes following parts of the old Roman road just like medieval pilgrims, we discovered the beauty of the Cathedral in Rodez. The latter was rebuilt at the end of the 13th century, and according to its architectural form, it was a part of the city fortification. Rodez brought us also to a different type of sacral building – we explored also the church of Saint-Amans, where we had a vivid art historical discussion on the original structure of the church from the 12th century and the parts that were reconstructed in the 18th century.

Finally, we reached Conques, where we could contemplate the remaining medieval objects: the monastery church of Sainte Foy, the famous gilded statue-reliquary of Sainte Foy itself, and of course other pieces (liturgical objects, reliquaries, etc.) preserved from the Conques treasury. We spent two days there. As such, we had time not just for meditation but also for reflecting on the few previous days that we spent en route as well. We slowly recovered from two weeks of isolation. However, it would be a pity, if I forgot to mention our church sleepover. As true pilgrims, we slept directly under a depiction of the Virgin Mary inside the transept of the abbey-church, relieved from the outside heat by the cool stone floor and listening to the nightly echoes of the empty sacred space.

Even though the nature of France and its historical monuments were truly appealing, I think that what remains in our minds is still more complex. We will remember mainly the hospitality and kindness of all the people we met. We did note all the objects that we saw however, in my notebook, the lead role belongs to the pictures of all the people on our way. Such as "Mr. Adorer of mosquitos" who was able to live in an environment full of these displeasing insects; or, the indiscreet flirtish blonde with a pool, who gave us water; Mr. Experienced pilgrim who lives a positive life even though it has not always been affable to him, or finally the monks in Conques, who looked after us in many ways – be it through delicious meals or friendly discussions. But of course, we met a lot of other good-hearted people who cannot all be named. We even dropped by a wedding and met a lovely group of people there. All the people often invited us by themselves, sometimes it was even unnecessary to ask them to welcome us. I have to say it is still hard to believe.

Perhaps, the last thought of mine would be: We got in touch not just with a different land – its nature, habits and art, but we also accomplished to understand the mentality of the inhabitants and became friends with them.