Holy site, place of memory or art object? : Some considerations on Mont Saint-Michel in the '(très) longue durée' (708?–2017)

For more than one thousand years, Mont Saint-Michel has been a magnetic place: pilgrims and tourists travel for days in order to reach this place. The meaning of this tidal island has changed many times – from a holy place, to a sacred space, then becoming a monument of French national identity, and finally a Mecca of consumerist tourism. How can we understand this exceptional 'longue durée' success? One could think of it as a place of memory re-appropriated by each generation – but is that sufficient? Thanks to written records through the centuries, it is possible to confirm that the fascination with this place has always involved a combination of nature and culture. This harmonic interaction has always been the result of a true artistic conception of the place updated through the centuries. In this sense, our answer is unequivocal: Mont Saint-Michel is an art object that comprises natural, monumental, and performative elements within itself.