Nice Cathedral

Nice Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral located in the city of Nice in southern France. The cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Nice. The construction of the main part of the current cathedral's body started in 1650 and finished in 1685. Further construction continued after its consecration in 1699, with new structures and decorative elements added to the cathedral until 1949. The cathedral is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saint Reparata. It has been classified as a national monument since 9 August 1906.

History

The original cathedral on the site, called St Mary of the Castle, was consecrated in 1049. In 1060, relics belonging to Saint Reparata (for whom the current cathedral is named) arrived in Nice. By 1075, a chapel dedicated to St Reparata was constructed at the foot of the castle.

During the latter half of the 12th century, the chapel became a priory of the Abbey of Saint-Pons. 1246 marked the official establishment of the priory as a parish church. The first church on the site was built in the early 13th century on land belonging to the Abbey of St Pons and became a parish church in 1246.

Population growth led to extensions being built onto the church between 1455 and 1468. During the first half of the 16th century, a series of acts gradually effected the transfer of the seat of the bishops of Nice from Cimiez Cathedral, which sits on the hill of the castle overlooking the city, to the church of St Reparata in 1590. After an official ceremony presided over by the bishop Luigi Pallavicini, and in the presence of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, the church was recognized as a chiesa-cattedrale.[5] In 1649, judging the building to be too small, Bishop Didier Palletis commissioned the architect Jean-André Guibert to produce a structure more in keeping with the importance of the city.

The construction of a new cathedral (the current main building) took place between 1650 and 1865. In 1699, the new cathedral was officially consecrated while additional construction continued.

The prominent bell tower was built next to it between 1731 and 1757.

The year 1900 marked the most recent addition to the cathedral, with the construction of new side chapels that replaced the former heavy baroque ornamentation. The cathedral was declared a minor basilica on 27 May 1949.

Address: 3 Pl. Rossetti, 06300 Nice, France
Opened: 1949
Architectural style: Baroque architecture
Architects: Jean-André Guiberto, Marc-Antoine Grigho
Burials: Louis-Abraham van Loo