The highlight of our visit to Rodez was a look around the impressive Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rodez). It sits very large and commanding in the center of the City. It has the sort of scale which demands attention. It dominates the scene.
The cathedral is constructed of red sandstone. It has a severe façade, flanked by two sturdy towers, which betray its defensive function: the west front once formed part of the city walls of Rodez. The belltower, standing at 87 m, is surmounted by a lantern carrying the statue of the Virgin with a choir of four angels . The closed west front once formed part of the city wall of Rodez.
Rodez was became a Chritian City in the 4th-5th century AD, and the first mention of a cathedral dates from around 516. The original structure was rebuilt c. 1000 but was rebuilt it from scratch in commencing in 1276.
Progress on the rebuilding was sporadic being interupted by the Black Death and the Hundred Years War. Work restarted in the early 15th century with the completion of the choir and its vault, as well as the transept and of the first sectors of the nave. After a serious in 1510, bishop François d’Estaing had it rebuilt in 1513-1526 under the direction of Antoine Salvan with a new majestic bell tower. The cathedral was completed around 1531.
An expert account of the building may be found here.
In 1792–98, Pierre Méchain and Jean-Baptiste Delambre used Rodez Cathedral as the central surveying point for their calculation of the circumference of the earth. This was used in the definition of the metre.
