For today's WednesdayWalk, let's wander together through some pretty streets and lanes of Vézelay.
This fortified hill town in the Yonne department is listed as one of the most beautiful villages in France (Les Plus Beaux Villages de France), and I can't agree more. I started walking from the parking lot at the bottom of the hill and made my way uphill to the abbey and the panoramic viewpoint at the top. The buildings and streets in this post are located between the town's lowest and highest points.
Vézelay is famous for its Romanesque Basilica of St Magdalene, which was built in the 11th century. I will probably show you that impressive UNESCO World Heritage Site in a future post.
According to legend, a monk brought Mary Magdalene's relics to Vézelay; later, in 1058, Pope Stephen IX confirmed the relics' authenticity. Due to its religious significance, the town became the starting point for one of four major pilgrim routes through France to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain.
It brought a large number of pilgrims to Vézelay and is still going on today. As a result, necessary facilities and establishments were constructed. As you can see from my photos here, the town has scallop shell signs and restaurants named after the pilgrimage.
When I visited it in the late afternoon, it was very quiet. Some shops were closed and there were few tourists. I loved the quiet streets and the elegant little shops painted in bright colors.
Wine caves and art galleries are also common sights. I read that the Romans started growing wine on the hills in the 1st century, and some believe the vineyards were established by the Monastery in the 9th century. After a phylloxera disaster, the vineyards were revived during the 1970s.
It's a shame I didn't get to see the Zervos Museum, which housed a large collection assembled by Christian Zervos (founder of the Cahiers d'art). He collaborated with the greatest artists of his time, including Picasso, Kandinsky, Laurens, Calder, Miró, Matisse, and Giacometti... Romain Rolland, the winner of Nobel Prize for Literature, passed away in the house and his bedroom is still there. He was born in Clamecy, the timber floating town I showed you in my previous post.
今天的周三漫步，我们一起来看看山城维泽莱的小街店。这个位于约讷区的小地方被列为"法国最美丽的村镇"之一，我完全同意。那个名单的评审有一系列标准，列出100多个法国各地的最美小城，我去过其中一些，确实都很不错，相较刚来欧洲时走访的那些主要城市，自有一番独特的韵味。
而维泽莱比起名单上那些更知名的小村镇，游人少了很多，安静自在。穿行在依山而建的小街巷，有种古老沧桑的感觉，有的建筑看起来破败，却不失味道。
它因为山顶11世纪的罗马式圣玛格达林大教堂而闻名，这座教堂被联合国教科文组织列为世界遗产，我可能会在以后的帖子里介绍。
由于这里崇高的宗教地位，维泽莱站成为法国四条主要朝圣路线的起点之一。很多朝圣者慕名而来，从这里前往西班牙加利西亚的圣地亚哥-德孔波斯特拉。从我这里的照片也可以看到那些扇贝标志和跟朝圣相关的餐馆等设施。
此外，沿街还看到不少葡萄酒店和艺术画廊。据说罗马人早在公元1世纪开始就已经在这里的山坡上种植葡萄，也有些人认为这里大面积的葡萄园是修道院院士们在9世纪拓展的。
有点遗憾没能参观泽沃斯馆，那里收藏着克里斯蒂安•泽沃斯的丰富藏品。他与毕加索、康定斯基、劳伦斯、考尔德、米罗、马蒂斯、贾科梅蒂等当时一批杰出的艺术家都有合作。诺贝尔文学奖得主罗曼·罗兰在这间房子里去世，他的卧室仍然保持原貌。他出生在克拉姆西，就是我上篇里提到的木材漂浮之都。
Brilliant shop name : Velo + Vézelay
下面这个店名很聪明: 将法语的单车和村名巧妙结合。他家有卖Faguo的男装，以前在药妆店买护肤品时送过我联名的套装包，所以一直记得这个奇特的名字，还蛮喜欢那些设计的。
. Thank you for visiting!图文 by Donica，谢谢来访！=)
