Marseille Cathedral

You can identify the Marseille Cathedral by its sweeping, striped facade of alternating light and dark stones, a visual signature inspired by Italian cathedrals. Known locally as La Major, this massive structure commands the seafront, its series of domes rising above the harbor as a deliberate statement of the city's power. It was built between eighteen fifty-two and eighteen ninety-three, during a time when Marseille was the busiest port in France and sought to project its status as the gateway to the Mediterranean.