Vézelay was marked by the Crusade: St-Bernard preached the merits of the second crusade at Vézelay and Philip-Augustus and Richard the Lionheart met there for the third. As a testimony to this rich past, the medieval town has Saint-Madeleine’s Basilica (masterpiece of Romanesque art), the former church of St-Etienne and numerous other medieval, Romanesque and Renaissance buildings. Set on a hill in the midst of the vineyards, its pastoral nature has captivated many poets and writers (Jules Roy and Max-Paul Fouchet to quote only two) who lived and were buried there.