Pilgrimages provide an extra dimension to the Camargue and a chance to see and participate in some of its surviving spectacles. Many of these events are more popular than religious in character, as the number of tourists attending them testifies. Christian, pagan and secular elements are the ingredients of one of Provence's best-known and most zestful events: the annual pilgrimage to Les-Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, the self-proclaimed capital of the Camargue, at the end of May. What makes this event worth attending is the animated presence of thousands of Gypsies who, for the two or three days of the pilgrimage, converge on this normally sleepy village from all corners of Europe.
The pilgrimage has its roots in the alleged discovery of Mary Jacob's remains here in the 13th century, a legend that quickly established Provence as the "second Palestine." With the adoption by Gypsies in the last century of Mary's Egyptian slave, Sarah, as their patron saint, the pilgrimage has grown over the years into a major event on Provence's cultural calendar, attracting not only attracts members of Europe's last wandering tribe, but hordes of independent visitors, film crews, journalists and other assorted media types.
Saintes-Maries, with its 15-km-long stretch of beach, first-rate seafood restaurants and an imposing Romanesque church built to house the assumed relics and remains of Sarah, the so-called Black Virgin, and other saints, hosts a steady trickle of tourists throughout the year, but moves into high gear with the pilgrimage. Crowds gather early on the first day, and any apprehensions that the event might turn out to be a solemn religious rite are soon dispelled as Gypsy bands and buskers strike up and flamenco dancers put on unrehearsed performances that in turn prompt other spontaneous outbreaks of street music and dancing.