Antibes Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Immaculée-Conception d'Antibes or ''Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Platea d'Antibes'') is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church located in the town of

Antibes Antibes (, also , ; oc, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal, Antíbol) is a coastal city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department of southeastern France, on the French Riviera, Côte d'Azur between Cannes and Nice. The town of ...

on the

French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is a national monument.

History

Local tradition maintains that a

pagan temple Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

dedicated to the Roman goddesses Diana and

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Roma ...

once stood on the site, and that

St Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

stopped here to preach in AD 63, during a journey to Spain. The Bishopric of Antibes was established c.450 by

Pope Leo I Pope Leo I ( 400 – 10 November 461), also known as Leo the Great, was bishop of Rome from 29 September 440 until his death. Pope Benedict XVI said that Leo's papacy "was undoubtedly one of the most important in the Church's history." Leo was ...

, the first two bishops being Armentarius and Agroecius. Presumably it was around this time that the cathedral was first built, and indeed the altar in the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament has been dated to the Merovingian era. The cathedral was destroyed during a raid on Antibes by

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

pirates in 1124, and rebuilt on the initiative of

Berenguer Ramon, Count of Provence Berenguer Ramon () (1115–1144) was the count of Provence (1131–1144). He was the younger son of Raymond Berengar III, Count of Barcelona, and Douce I, Countess of Provence. While his older brother Raymond Berengar received Barcelona (his fat ...

; the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

, the oldest surviving part of the cathedral structure, dates to this phase of construction. Further raids followed over the next century or so, and in 1244 the bishops relocated to Grasse to escape their depredations. The bishops remained there for the next five centuries, despite an attempt to lure them back to Antibes by rebuilding the cathedral in 1250. The cathedral was destroyed yet again in the eighteenth century, this time by

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

bombardment during the 1746-7

Siege of Antibes The siege of Antibes took place in the winter of 1746–47, during the War of the Austrian Succession. A combined Austro- Savoyard army, commanded by Maximilian Ulysses Browne, invaded France and laid siege to Antibes on the French Mediterra ...

Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

personally issued an edict for the cathedral's reconstruction in June 1747, and the external form of the building dates largely to this phase of its history. The Bishopric of Grasse was suppressed during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

and was not restored by the Concordat of 1801; instead its territory, including Antibes, was assigned to the

Diocese of Nice The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nice (Latin: ''Dioecesis Nicensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Nice'') is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the Départment of Alpes-Maritimes. The diocese is ...

Architecture and Art

The church layout features three naves and a large organ to the rear. The current facade is in the Italian style, dating from 1747 when it was rebuilt after the Austrian bombardment. In the interior are a number of splendid works of art, the most renowned of which is the altarpiece of Our Lady of the Rosary in the transept chapel, which was produced in 1515 by the Niçois painter Louis Brea. Also of note are the cathedral's carved walnut doors, which depict

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

and Saint Sebastian, the two patron saints of Antibes, and were made c.1710 by the Antibois sculptor Jacques Dolle.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Antibes Tourist Information pageLocation
Former cathedrals in France Buildings and structures in Antibes Churches in Alpes-Maritimes Roman Catholic cathedrals in France