Cross of Provence

The Cross of Provence is a monument located on the western end of the Montagne Sainte-Victoire in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.

It was a focus for pilgrimages in Provence, but habitual removal of mementos caused rapid deterioration which, combined with the violence of the mistral lead to its destruction.

[1] The current cross was built in 1875, on the initiative of the parish priest of Rousset, Father Meissonnier, to ward off two evils: smallpox and the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870.

It overlooks the chapel of Notre-Dame de la Victoire, and a 17th-century priory undergoing restoration.

[1][2] The base contains four inscriptions: The monument was restored for the first time in 1982, then in 2004 when the old plinth was replaced by a stone-coloured, reinforced concrete facing, which forms a 360 degree viewing bench.