Le Puy Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral, and a national monument of France, in Le Puy-en-Velay, Auvergne. It has been a centre of pilgrimage in its own right since before the time of Charlemagne, as well as forming part of the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. Since 1998 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of the "Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France".It is the seat of the Bishop of Le Puy.Building descriptionThe cathedral forms the highest point of the city, rising from the foot of the Rocher Corneille, and contains architecture of every period from the 5th century to the 15th, which gives it an individual appearance. The bulk of construction, however, dates from the first half of the 12th century.Formerly, the visitor passed through a porch standing well out from the building and, after descending beneath the pavement, emerged by a stairway in front of the high altar; the principal stairway is now covered by a bold vaulting which serves as base for one half of the church.The façade, striped in courses of white sandstone and black volcanic breccia, is reached by a flight of sixty steps, and consists of three orders: the lowest composed of three high arcades opening into the porch, which extends beneath the first bays of the nave; above are three central windows that light the nave; above them are three gables, one the gable-end of the nave, flanked by two openwork screening gables. The south transept doorway is sheltered by a fine Romanesque porch. Behind the choir rises a separate Romanesque bell-tower in seven storeys.