The cliff village of miracles — a medieval pilgrimage site stacked vertically in the Lot valley gorge
Rocamadour is a medieval village in the Lot built vertically into the face of a 120-metre limestone cliff above the Alzou gorge — one of the most visually dramatic settings of any town in France. It has been a pilgrimage destination since the 12th century, when the preserved body of a hermit said to be Zacchaeus was found in the cliff face. The Black Madonna in the Chapelle Notre-Dame draws millions of pilgrims annually. The village occupies three levels: the valley floor, the medieval cité religieuse on the cliff face, and the clifftop château above.
Rocamadour became a major stop on the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route after the discovery of the hermit's preserved body in 1166, and Henry II of England came here in 1170 as penance after ordering Thomas Becket's murder. At its medieval peak the town received 30,000 pilgrims daily and its guest list included St. Dominic, St. Bernard, St. Anthony, and kings Louis IX, Louis XI, and Philip IV. The Hundred Years' War and Wars of Religion devastated the town; 19th-century restoration by the Bishop of Cahors returned it to habitable condition.