As promised, here are some photos from our last stop on Wednesday, the city of Autun in northern Burgundy. It's a very pretty city with lots to offer those interested in Roman and Romanesque art.
Autun was settled in Roman times, when it was known as Augustodunum. You can still see some Roman ruins around the city, the best of which are the Roman amphitheater (which we didn't have time to see), a large gate, and the 1st-century Temple of Janus. We stopped at the temple on the way out of town, after the weather had turned ugly again. It stands in a field, with cows looking unimpressed nearby.
Autun Cathedral stands on the highest point in the city and we had to walk fairly steeply uphill from our parking spot to reach it. Although it has a mostly Gothic exterior, it is full of wonderful Romanesque art and architecture. It was built in the early 1100s and dedicated to St. Lazarus, the guy Jesus raised from the dead. The cathedral claimed to have a relic of Lazarus, so it attracted pilgrims.
The sky was cloudy for most our visit, but the sun did come out just long enough for us to get some nice photos of the exterior:
This is the Second Temptation of Christ, in which the devil tries to convince Jesus to throw himself off the tower of the Temple.
Lots more (200+) photos of all the sculpture-y goodness at Autun Cathedral can be seen on Sacred Destinations.
Just across the street from the cathedral is the Musée Rolin, which I couldn't miss because it has more sculptures from the cathedral, plus ancient Roman finds and other great stuff. David was glad to leave me there and headed down the hill in search of a kebab shop for late lunch (he found one).
A fantastic Roman mosaic found under the streets of Autun, depicting a Greek philosopher or poet.
Since then, we've mostly waited out the rain at our base in Macon. I got some work done and booked a few more hotels, and we traded in our rental car down in Lyon. Yesterday the sun finally came out again and we did another long loop through beautiful countryside to visit old churches. It was a really fun day.
Last night we had a big thunderstorm and downpour, but the sun is out again today and it is actually hot! This morning I photographed the old church here in Macon and this afternoon we'll drive up to Tournus to see another one. Tomorrow we move to our new base, Clermont-Ferrand. More details on all this soon!