Peel back the layers of time as we stand before the Escalier Rolando. These aren’t just steps. They are a grand entrance to Marseille’s soul. The Escalier Rolando serves as a majestic welcome to the city.
Imagine arriving at Gare Saint-Charles. You aren’t greeted by a bland exit but rather by a cascade of architectural splendor. The Gare Saint-Charles has a grand staircase that spills into the city. Majestic statues and palm trees flank the escaliers. Art Nouveau bronze dolphin lampposts cascade down the middle. You feel like royalty descending to a ball.
The Escalier Rolando wasn’t part of the original station. The station’s construction dates back to 1848. It took almost eight decades before someone realized the station needed a grander connection to the city. City planners bid au revoir to obstructing buildings. They made space for the stairs to connect the hilltop train station to the Boulevard d’Athènes.
Eugène Sénès designed the 104 steps. He was also the architect of the nearby Bourse de Travail. Prominent Marseille sculptors created statues full of regional colonial and maritime motifs. These pay homage to the multinational nautical nature of this port city. The Escalier Rolando was completed in 1927.
At the bottom of the Escalier Rolando stand two statues. Louis Bottinelly designed these bookends. The local sculptor uses the female form as a metaphor. Botinelly’s monumental women represent Marseille’s connection to lands near and far. One statue is Colonies d’Afrique. An African woman with braided hair and tribal jewelry regally reclines among a monkey mask and elephant tusks. The other is Colonies D’Asie. Like a Khmer princess the heroine is crowned with an ornate headdress. She lounges on a shell seat with an Asian vase and Khmer lion besides her. Children are featured in all of the staircase’s statues. It is a wink to Marseille’s patron saint the Bonne Mère.
As you ascend the Escalier Rolando notice the bronze statues lining the guardrails. Henri Raynaud’s cherubs correspond with rich Provencal traditions. Fruits flowers farming fishing hunting and wine are all represented. Les vendanges shows them basking in the grape bunches picked for the wine harvest. La chasse shows a cherub clutching a bow and arrow above his hunting prize a dead goose.
On the middle landing Auguste Carli’s allegorical females captain ships. The ships are helmed by proud rams’ figureheads. The towering beauty on the right is Porte de l’Orient. She represents the port’s flow of immigration and trade. Encircled by griffons she is the ultimate strong Marseillaise. She sports a seashell tiara and toga with a trident in hand. On the left Colonie Grecque personifies Marseille’s beginning as the Greek colony Massalia 2600 years ago. She sits confidently posed on an antique chair. She is draped in a traditional chlamyde unlike her bare-breasted counterpart. She holds a fellow female badass a small statue of Artemis.
The lantern-topped pillars feature crests of French cities by sculptor Henri Martin. Marseille’s armoirie faces the train station. Its cross is the same as the city flag. The Porte de l’Orient has Aix en Provence’s striped crest on her left. Nice’s eagle is on her right. Find Lyon’s lion on the Colonie Grecque’s right. Paris’s ship is on her left.
Before you continue up don’t miss the two Arrivée and Départ archways. They bookend the next level of steps. They feature an aquarium of motifs. Crabs crustaceans seahorses fish and shells are all present.
Two lion and child statues flank the top of the Escalier Rolando. Ary Bitter made these noble lions. They symbolize strength and vigilance. Each statue has its own inscription. Le soleil et la mer the sun and the sea. Le monde and l’energie the world and vigor.
The Escalier Rolando is more than an architectural marvel. It’s a vertical urban park. Locals and tourists gather. Some grab a snack before catching a train. Others read in the sun. Some simply enjoy a smoke with friends. Take a moment to appreciate the blend of art history and daily life. The Escalier Rolando is a true Marseille experience.