The Sainte-Cécile Cathedral emerges like a vessel of bricks in the heart of the city, and represent the masterpiece of the southern Gothic architecture. It was built to underline the power of the Catholic Church, after the crusade against the Cathars (the albigenses crusade). Italian Renaissance painters painted colourful frescoes of the vault. The painting of the Last Judgement (1474-84) provides a marvellous "cartoon strip" vision of Heaven, Earth and Hell. Executed using the tempera technique, it originally covered more than 200m2. It was mutilated in the 18th century when the central part was completely destroyed to give access to the chapel in the base of the bell tower.
The Berbie palace is one of the
oldest and best-preserved bishop castles in France, dominate series
of floral composition and greenery. It is home to the
Toulouse-Lautrec Museum, with more than 1000 paintings, drawings
together with lithographs is the largest public collection in the
world devoted to the Albi-born artist Toulouse-Lautrec.
Text :Comité
départemental du Tourisme
Pictures:© Bed
and
Breakfast Artichaud
+ info:
Albi
tourist Office
