Extraordinary alteration in France
Rocamadour is a cliff-hugging medieval village that was built on a limestone cliff rising 490 feet above the Alzou canyon. Along with “St Cirq La Popie”, this is one of the most extraordinary settings in France. Legend has it that the history of Rocamadour began with the arrival of Zacchaeus, husband of St Veronica, who fled to France to escape religious persecution and lived out his last years here as a hermit. When in 1166 a perfectly preserved body was found in a grave high up on the rock, it was declared to be Zacchaeus, known in France as St Amadour.
Rocamadour is one of seven great pilgrimage sites in the 10th – 12th century. The town was named after an early Christian hermit St Amadour. The site was on the pilgrimage route to San Juan de Capestella and still remains a important for other religions site such as the Black Madonna and the Sword of Roland.
The origin of the sanctuary of Rocamadour, lost in antiquity, is thus set down along with fabulous traditions which cannot bear up to sound criticism. After the religious manifestations of the Middle Ages, Rocamadour, as a result of war and the French Revolution, had become almost deserted. In more modern times, owing to the zeal and activity of the bishops of Cahors, it seems to have revived and pilgrims and tourists are beginning to crowd there again.
