Altar Area a the Choir of the Canons at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Albi
The stone screen at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Albi divides the cathedral into two. The first part is the open access one and the second part is the paid section. The paid section is primarily made up of the Choir of the Canons. The choir was curiously put towards the rear of the cathedral when it is normally placed near the altar. I have never seen this kind of setup before but it turns out there was a reason for this. The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Cecilia can described as having a church within the cathedral. This is because the choir effectively creates a church of its own within the cathedral.
Magificent Altar at the Choir of the Canons
At the end of the museum tour, visitors will end up at the choir section on one end of the choir section, the one which is towards the other end of the actual cathedral was an altar, not unlike the one which the main cathedral has. I have heard of cathedrals having chapels but this does feel more like a church rather than a cathedral. This inner church is bounded by the stone screen which forms the choir area. The altar is obviously not as large as the main one but it is still larger than most. I thought it would be a bit weird to have this kind of setup but maybe the priests or bishops back then wanted this area all to themselves.
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