SAINTES MARIES DE LA MER, FRANCE — Many Romani communities have continued to live a nomadic lifestyle. But in France, they have settled down while maintaining strong ties to their traditions and history. At the end of each May in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, on the border between Provence and Languedoc, the local Romani community hosts a pilgrimage in honor of St. Sara the Black, their patron, and for some, their queen. For days, the town comes alive with caravan encampments amid music, dancing and barbecues. The many families belonging to the “gens du voyage” community, as Roma are called in France, mingle with the inhabitants of Saintes Maries and the large numbers of tourists who come to watch the procession of the saint. Although the pilgrimage’s origins are ancient, the tradition was institutionalized and codified in 1935 when the Marquis Folco de Baroncelli, founder of the Nacioun Gardiano, officially recognized the role of Roma — once derisively known as “gypsies” — in the identity of the region.

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