the Chapels of the Penitents brotherhoods

inNice ‘the buildings’ collection he brotherhoods of the penitents sions since 1595. Their chapels are out- are non-clergy charities whose lined below in this same traditional order. Taim is two-fold: public expression of the Catholic faith and assisting the most vulnerable in our communities. The WHITE PENITENTS: four brotherhoods here remain active and are Nice’s oldest associations. The THE SAINTE-CROIX brotherhood movement was born in Mediterranean Europe in the late 13th CHAPEL century. Headed up by the Church, the The brotherhood of Sainte-Crox, the of- movement then spread widely from ficial name of the white penitents, was Portugal to Malta and over to the New founded in accordance with tradition World. Boasting a presence in the county on 20 March 1306. On this day, it was of Nice since the early 14th century, the housed in the Dominican church (pres- movement was so popular that every ent-day site of the Palais de Justice) and single village in the region housed at had no autonomous chapel. It wasn’t un- least one brotherhood, with Nice home to til 1518 that the brotherhood moved to seven in the mid-18th century. Steeped in the other side of the city, to its own build- centuries of tradition and the gatekeepers ing attached to the Saint-Martin-Saint- of monumental heritage and history that Augustin church. This first Sainte-Croix [2] Sainte-Croix chapel, decoration on the vault. has left its mark on Nice’s landscape, chapel remained until 1761, at which Photo White penitents, Nice. the brotherhoods continue to welcome in point the brothers found themselves with visitors as new brothers and sisters today, not enough room, prompting them to Listed as a historic monument on The symbol of the brotherhood of white and quietly pursue their community- purchase another building at auction, the 22 November 1987, the chapel has penitents is the white cappa, undoubtedly minded initiatives. chapel of the former Minimes convent, at undergone a series of restorations since in reference to the Dominicans who Drawing on ancient criteria, the bishop the corner of the Rue Saint-Joseph. This the 2000s. supported its building and in a nod to the of Nice has been drawing up the order in building, fully renovated between 1765 Since 1632, the Sainte-Croix brotherhood humility of its plain white fabric [3]. which the brotherhoods appear in proces- and 1767, is now known as the Sainte- has devoted its efforts to helping the ill by Croix chapel [1]. founding its own free and private hospital It was rebuilt in the baroque style by An- located on Rue François-Zanin (Nice old BLACK PENITENTS: tonio Spinelli (1726-1819), a Nice archi- town). To increase the number of beds, THE MISÉRICORDE tect who was very active in the county of in 1849 the hospital was relocated to 38 Nice at the end of the 18th century (the Route de Turin (present-day Avenue de CHAPEL la République). A new building named blue penitents chapel in Nice and Place The Miséricorde brotherhood was the Maison Sainte-Croix has housed Garibaldi, the parish churches of Èze, founded in 1329. Unlike the white therapeutic coordination units since La Turbie and Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée). penitents, it was not founded in the lower 2005. The floor plans are very simple, featuring section of the city but in its heights, in three juxtaposed rectangles, one longer the Sainte-Marie du Plateau cathedral, for the nave, the other with split sections whose vestiges can be seen today in the for the choir, and the third for the sanctu- Castle grounds. In 1422, it transferred its ary (a space reserved for the brothers). chapel to the lower part of the city, next Abundant floral décor, rare in a religious to the Sainte-Réparate church, which in site of this size, embellishes all of the turn became a cathedral in 1531. When pilasters and friezes. The sanctuary is the cathedral was rebuilt in the baroque dominated by a frescoed, decorated half th style between 1649 and 1699, the dome. A cycle of 17 century paintings Miséricorde chapel found itself encircled (The Arrest of Jesus, The Descent from by the new building, at the current site of the Cross, The Burial, The Invention of the two lateral southern chapels, one of the Holy Cross) taken from the previous which is home to the baptismal fonts, and chapel depict episodes centred around the other the Quatre-Saints-Couronnés [1] Façade of the Sainte-Croix chapel. devotion to Christ’s cross, protector of [3] Sainte-Croix chapel, close-up of the altar. altar. In 1827-1828, the brotherhood Photo White penitents, Nice. Photo White penitents, Nice. the brotherhood [2]. purchased the Saint-Gaétan chapel at the Cours Saleya, confiscated from current Rue de la Préfecture. In 1782, the religious order of Théatins in 1792 they seized the opportunity to build on by revolutionaries. The brotherhood Place Garibaldi, purchasing the central restored it in 1828-1829 and enriched it pavilion of the square’s southern building with a new, luxurious décor in 1876. and transferring their chapel there. They The Saint-Gaétan chapel, now the entrusted Antoine Spinelli with the task of Miséricorde chapel [4], is a masterpiece drawing up floor plans, and from 1784, of Nice’s baroque style. The building was the new building was delivered to the erected based on floor plans designed cult. by Turin-born Bernardo Vittone (1704- Built in the baroque style, the Très-Saint- 1770), a student of the great baroque Sépulcre chapel [7] features some very architect Filippo Juvarra. The author of a particular characteristics, as it is built on number of architectural classics, Vittone the first floor of the building that houses was very active in Piedmont (Santa Maria it. Its relatively narrow proportions forced di Piazza in Turin, Santa Chiara in Turin [5] Miséricorde chapel, decoration on the vault. the architect to reach new structural Photo City of Nice. and Brà, the Casale Monferrato hospice, heights to create a sense of a larger etc.), honing his curved architectural the decorative richness, applied after space. The result is a floor plan split into style based on geometric elegance and construction, it abounds in all its golden two rectangular segments running width- the quest for striking a balance between beauty, in an allusion to divine eternity [5]. ways, tapering off as they move towards divine perfection, musicality and the high altar, and half-dome ceilings that The chapel was listed as a historic th structure. The Saint-Gaétan floor plans monument on 30 May 1921. It underwent open the space out upwards. The 19 are structured around an oval shape with heavy preservation works between 2002 century decorated ceilings are the work four lateral chapels built along a Saint and 2003 (stabilisation via micropiles in of Nice painter Emmanuel Costa (1833- Andrew’s cross, juxtaposed with an oval particular), followed by restoration work 1921) [8]. choir and rectangular sanctuary. The on the outside between 2009 and 2011. [6] Virgin of Mercy, altarpiece by Louis Bréa. inner oval can be seen in the rounded A cycle of paintings from the 18th and 19th Photo Michel Graniou. exterior of the façade. The profusion of centuries depicts the various patrons of light streaming through its high windows, the brotherhood and the Théatins, the sociale (CCAS) [Community Centre of a strong symbol of baroque art (all light previous occupiers of the chapel, as well Social Action]. comes from God), is tempered by the as the Virgin of the Miséricorde. The four The black colour of the brotherhood’s arches that conceal its origins. As to cardinal virtues that dominate the high robes probably stems from the fact that, altar were created by the Nice painter having been founded after the white Hercule Trachel (1820-1872). penitents, they chose another colour that In its sacristy, the chapel also boasts two also symbolises humility. masterpieces of Nice painting described as ‘primitive’, the Vierge de Miséricorde BLUE PENITENTS: (1429) by Montpelier artist Jean Mirailhet (Miralheti in Nice dialect), and the same THE TRÈS-SAINT- subject painted by Louis Bréa (circa 1515) [6]. SÉPULCRE CHAPEL For centuries, the brotherhood of the The Très-Saint-Sépulcre brotherhood Miséricorde devoted itself to supporting was founded in 1431 under the auspices those sentenced to death and especially of the Franciscans of the Observance, to managing a very large ‘mount of piety’, a reformed branch of the wide-spread which was the only authorised source of Franciscan religious movement. As with credit and financial aid in those times. the other brotherhoods, it was initially In 1796, it was turned into a Bureau de housed in the monks’ convent at that time Bienfaisance and in 1953 it became a located in the Croix-de-Marbre district. social welfare bureau by merging with After the monastery had been destroyed the aid structures established in 1893. by Franco-Ottoman assailants during the [4] Miséricorde chapel. [7] Saint-Sépulcre chapel. Photo City of Nice. Finally, in 1986 this institution took the siege of 1543, the brothers withdrew into Photo City of Nice. name of Centre communal d’Action the city and founded their chapel on the RED PENITENTS: the The Holy Trinity painting by Barbéri himself. Another remarkable work of art THE SAINT-SUAIRE from the old building is the highly original painting (1660) by Nice painter Jean- AND TRÈS-SAINTE- Gaspard Baldoino (circa 1590-1669) TRINITÉ CHAPELS depicting the Burial (bottom) and the Ostension of the Shroud by the Angels The brotherhood of the Très-Sainte- (top) in two different registers [11]. Trinité was born of the fusing of three This relic is one of the most precious in other brotherhoods. The oldest is the Christendom, and was the property of brotherhood of the Saint-Nom-de-Jésus, the House of Savoy who largely favoured founded in 1578, whose piety is very this cult in the baroque era. It should be similar to that of the Jesuits. It enjoyed a remembered that before being kept in [8] Saint-Sépulcre chapel, decorated by E. Costa. chapel close to the Dominican convent the San Giovanni Battista cathedral in Photo Michel Graniou. located on the present-day Place du Turin, the Shroud found refuge in Nice Palais. The brotherhood’s robes were with the royal family in 1536 while the The chapel is home to a number of red and they cared for orphans. Next war against Francis I raged. works of art: the monumental painting of came the brotherhood of Saint-Esprit the Assumption of the Virgin by Louis- founded in 1585, whose chapel was Through their ancient past and their Abraham van Loo (died in Nice in 1712), located at Place Saint-François. This architectural value as well as the vocation a moving little statue of the Madone de brotherhood wore white robes and of their piety and the charity of their Sincaïre madonna (a virgin venerated by managed a ‘mount of piety’. Finally, brotherhoods, these four chapels deserve Nice locals, a tradition that dates back the brotherhood of Saint-Suaire was their reputation as some of the most to the 1543 siege), Christ rising [9] and founded in 1620. After having occupied [10] Procession of the Red Penitents in front of their emblematic buildings of Nice’s heritage. the procession of the Assumption (18th a chapel that was soon hemmed in Saint-Suaire chapel. century), a rare collection of cartellami by the expansion of the Visitation Photo City of Nice. (decorative pieces depicting the Passion convent, the brotherhood established the Empire and the return of religious th th of the Christ). A cycle of 17 and 18 its definitive place of worship in 1657 peace, the brotherhood of Saint-Esprit century paintings around the priory on the site of the current Saint-Suaire fused with that of Saint-Suaire in 1807, tribune (president of the association) chapel. This brotherhood, too, wore forming the over-arching brotherhood shows the different devotions of the white robes. The first two brotherhoods of Très-Sainte-Trinité (a clear allusion brotherhood. fused in 1782 under the banner of both to dogma and to the memory of its Listed as a historic monument on 19 the Saint-Esprit. Dissolved, as were three historic components). It adopted May 2000, since then the chapel has all of Nice’s other brotherhoods, by the red robes of the former brotherhood undergone numerous restorative works. the French revolutionary authorities, of Saint-Nom-de-Jésus [10]. Yet in the The Très-Saint-Sépulcre brotherhood is their chapels were destroyed under Revolution, the Saint-Suaire chapel principally devoted to housing orphans. the Empire to make room for the two was confiscated and abandoned. In The blue colour of the brotherhood’s adjoining squares of Place du Palais 1824, the new brotherhood obtained habit is inspired by devotion to the Virgin. and Place de Saint-François. With a restitution order from King Charles- Felix. Heavily damaged, it had to be restored, a project entrusted to the architect, painter and decorator Paul- Émile Barbéri (1775-1847), who was also the brotherhood’s prior. The chapel’s architecture and décor is much more sober and restrained compared to that of its ‘sisters’. As baroque had fallen out of fashion by 1824, the return to the old Neoclassical

style was de rigueur. Its rectangular floor [11] Entombment and Ostension of the Shroud of Turin, [9] Saint-Sépulcre chapel, recumbent figure of Christ plan is incisive and clear, showcasing altarpiece by J.-G. Baldoino. Photo Michel Graniou. its spectacular high altar crowned with Photo Michel Graniou. Virgin of Mercy by L. Bréa (close-ups). Virgin

service Patrimoine historique

14, rue Jules Gilly - 06364 Nice cedex 4

www.nice.fr/fr/culture/patrimoine by A.-L. Van Loo; Close-up of the Sainte-Croix chapel vault; A.-L. Van Mary by by the knight Barbéris; Assumption of Virgin Cover : The Holy Trinity