Mary Magdalene's grotto

The Sainte-Baume massif has long been considered sacred. As legend has it, in the 1st century, Mary Magdalene spent the last 30 years of her life there as an ascetic, in a cave that gave the site its name (baumo means ‘cave’ in Provençal). In the 5th century, John Cassian, who contributed to the spread of Christianity in Provence, set up a priory there. It then gradually became a place of pilgrimage, with pilgrims coming to admire the site where Mary Magdalene lived.