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The Cathedral of Monaco
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© Centre de Presse de Monaco
When the Genoese took possession of the Rocher of Monaco in 1215 and built the Old Castle - and later the New Castle - no parish church existed then, apart from a few country chapels on the outskirts of Monaco; the chapel of Saint Marie la Glorieuse in the port of Monaco (which belonged to the Bishop of Nice); the chapel that was later to become the priory of Saint Devote (which was under the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Pons of Nice, as was Saint Martin’s Chapel to the east of the Rocher, existent from June 1247). Growth in the population made building a place of worship on the Rocher itself a pressing need at an early stage. Although the exact date of the construction of the first parish church cannot be traced in any archives, tradition leads us to believe that the church mentioned in a Bull from Pope Innocent IV in December 1247, authorising the Genoese to build a chapel there, could well have been the first ever parish church. Such a church, placed under the patronage of Saint Nicholas of Myra was mentioned for the first time in 1322.
The original construction was enlarged over the course of the XV, XVI and XVIIth centuries, by adding chapels on the side, the wall panels of which still remain on the outside of the modern-day Cathedral (Lapidary museum). Archives reveal that donations and bequests enabled an artistic heritage to be established, which we will be fortunate enough to see during our tour, thanks to the generosity of the Grimaldis of Monaco and of the Monegasques.
Part of this heritage was lost or destroyed over the course of the French Revolution during which, in 1793, Monaco was annexed to the department of the Alpes Maritimes.
In April 1868, a consistorial decree established an abbey Nullius diocoesis in Monaco, carrying the name of Saints Nicolas and Benoît. It was headed by a mitred Benedictine monk, Dom Romaric Flugi, who was directly under the authority of Rome. Efforts made by the Grimaldis of Monaco for more than three centuries to bring about religious autonomy to their state (which belonged to the Bishop of Nice at the time) had finally been rewarded. The Church of Saint Nicolas hence became an abbey.
Prince Charles III decided to erect a new and larger building on the original site of the Church of Saint Nicolas (destroyed in 1874). It was to be known under the name of the Immaculate Conception with Saint Nicolas and Saint Benoît as secondary patron saints – in remembrance of the original church and the abbey Nullius. The transept of the modern-day cathedral covers the area of the previous church, whereas its nave covers that of the old cemetery. The first stone was laid on 6th January 1875 and its doors were opened to worshippers for the first time in 1886, although only two-thirds of the construction had been completed. The following year in 1887, Pope Leo XIII raised it to a diocese (elevated to an archdiocese in 1981). Finally complete, the cathedral was inaugurated on 12th November 1903, but consecrated only in 1911.
Parisian architect Charles Lenormand designed the plans: a Latin cross on three naves and six bays, with an ambulatory adorned with five chapels radiating outwards and an apsidal chapel at each transept crossing. The style chosen was Auvergne Roman with a Byzantine influence in the interior.
Monegasque contractors, Louis Ajani and Antoine Notari for the structural work, contributed to the construction.
Venetian mosaic design layer Facchina was entrusted with the mosaic on the half-domed vault that rises above the chancel and its 27 niches, taking inspiration from drawings by the painter Gubian, the decoration of the main altar, the altar in the Princes’ Chapel (the legend of Saint Devote), the Episcopal throne, etc. Facchina was the mosaic layer in the Paris Opera House and the Monte Carlo Casino.
Jacques-Ange Corbel created the sculptures and statues, in particular those in the tympanums and on the façade (from 1883 to 1894).
Henri Louis Cordier, sculptor from Nice (1853-1926) furnished the six statues on the façade that include Saint Devote, Saint Nicolas and Saint Benoît, and worked on the building from approximately 1883 to 1901. He also created sculptures for the Casino.
A few plaster scale models of Corbel’s and Cordier’s sculptures are kept in the Cathedral (triforium and roof).
Glaziers from the Nicolas Lorin Establishment and subsequently Veuve N. Lorin of Chartres installed 183 stained glass windows, including 64 depicting characters from the Old and New Testament (supplied between 1883 and 1887). One of the sets of windows recounts the Passion of Saint Devote, while another illustrates the miracle of Saint Nicolas, etc. (the windows were restored by Fassi of Nice between 1943 and 1948).
The original high altar in marble decorated with mosaics by Facchina, designed between 1882 and 1884 by architect Lenormand, was dismantled and transformed into an altar to face the congregation in 1987. Other parts of the altar were used to build ambos and pedestals etc.
A Tour of the Cathedral
1 - Baptismal Chapel and Font: Baptismal font in stone from La Turbie, XVIIth century, most probably originating from the old parish church.
Crucifix from the church of Saint Nicolas dating from 1637.
2 - White marble bust of Bishop Louis Lazare Perruchot (1852-1930) founder of the Cathedral’s Choir School. Bust created shortly after the death of the Prelate, by Louis Maubert (Paris 1875-Nice 1949), painter, sculptor and coin maker (e.g. for Prince Louis II).
Alongside is a bust of Bishop Clement (1865-1939), Bishop of Monaco from 1924 to 1934.
3 - Plaques depicting the history of the Cathedral.
4 - Pupil’s copy (XVIIth century) of Samson the Victorious by Guido Reni, known as the Guide (1575-1642), a pupil himself of Carrache, of which the original, painted in 1610, is housed at the Pinacoteca in Bologna. This artwork, although inspired by religion (Book of Judges, 15,14,16), reveals Reni’s talent for nude painting, such as he observed in antique marbles.
5 - White marble bust of Bishop Charles François Bonaventure Theuret, the first Bishop of Monaco (1887-1901) by Cordier. Sculpted after 1901.
5/6 - Panels representing Saint Laurent (5) and Saint Jacques le Majeur (6) that may have been donated to the church of Saint Nicolas in the XVIIth century by Hippolyte Trivulce (? - 1638), wife of Prince Honoré II. Panels believed to be from the Genoese School".
6 - White marble bust of Bishop Jean-Charles Arnal de Curel, the second Bishop of Monaco (1903-1915) by Denys Puech (1854-1942), Prix de Rome in 1884, official art agent, to whom credit is given for the statue of Prince Albert I (Saint Martin’s gardens).
7 - Chapel of Saint Sacrement. A magnificent altar mistakenly dubbed the «Spanish altar ». Made of gold plated walnut, it dates back to 1667 (inscribed in a cartouche) and could have originated from the old parish. Spanish Renaissance style. The extremely dilapidated altar underwent extensive restoration in 1884 when certain parts were entirely refabricated. Only very recently, was it cleaned and regilded.
The (lower) vault of the altar is adorned with a statue of the Sacré-Coeur (or Sacred Heart) dating most probably from the Restoration of 1884 (the cult of Sacré Coeur was only established after the apparitions in Paray-le-Monial in 1673-1674); on the left is a male figure holding vine shoots, on the right, a woman clasping a sheaf of wheat, symbolising the two elements of the Eucharist – bread and wine. Above the tabernacle, Christ of Mercy, with, on His left, Saint John the Evangelist (book in hand) and Saint Mary-Madeleine (?) and on His right, an unidentified Saint holding a book in her left hand and a mitred bishop.
The statues are not of the same style and do not appear to be all from the contemporaneous period of the original altar.
This chapel is also the burial chapel for the bishops of Monaco. (a list of past bishops buried in the crypt is on the wall on the right).
On the wall, gilded wooden frame and arches (dating from 1668).
ECCE HOMO. Oil painting. XVIIth century. Anon.
8 - Crimson velvet canopy, completed in 1712 (date upon which the embroideries were paid for by the Prince’s exchequer). Bearing the coat of arms of Prince Antoine I (1661-1731) and his wife Marie de Lorraine (1674-1724), this was a gift by the latter to the Church of Saint Nicolas.
An inscription that recollects how the embalmed body of Pope Pius VI passed through Monaco in 1802 (died in Valence in 1800).
9 - The Virgin Mary with Child and Rosary or Virgin Mary of the Rosary, mistakenly attributed to Louis Bréa. Italian school, XVIth century. Many repainted sections. The painting was retrieved in the chapel of the Brotherhood of Saint Rosaire, built in the XVth century in the transept of Saint Nicolas.
Baby Jesus, on the knees of the Virgin Mary, is holding a rosary to a Pope whose headpiece is lying at Mary’s feet. Next to the pontiff, in the foreground, is an important secular figure. He is wearing a crown and kneeling down on a cushion. Just behind is a second figure, of whom only the face can be seen, also wearing what seems to be a crown (a Prince?). Behind them is a group of cardinals wearing red headdresses.
The Virgin Mary, seated grandly upon a throne, is giving a rosary to two figures on her left; a man and a woman, both wearing royal or imperial crowns. Behind this couple is a group of women dressed in black with white headdresses. The Pope who is portrayed in the painting is Pope Sixtus IV (1414-1484) who granted indulgences to the brotherhoods of the Rosary by a Bull dated 30th May 1478.
In accordance with the overriding theme throughout the XIVth century in all representations in this region of the Virgin Mary of the Rosary, closely linked to that of the Virgin Mary of Mercy, the original painting would have depicted, on the right of the Virgin Mary, the ecclesiastical world only and on her left, the profane. The secular figures that appear in the foreground next to the Pope are undoubtedly the work of a restorer who was not aware of the iconography of the era: the headdresses they wear could well have been mitres at the onset.
The painting comprises many repainted sections.
10 - The death of Saint Joseph (1650), a painting by Orazio Ferrari, from Voltri, near Genoa (1606-1657), for the church of Saint Nicolas. Ferrari was working for Prince Honoré II (paintings and frescoes in the Palace, oil paintings) and was made knight of the Order of Saint Michel in 1652.
11 - Virgin Mary in gilded wood, XVIIth century.
In the ambulatory, the tombs of the Lords and Princes of Monaco, including that of Princess Grace.
12 - Panel of Saint Antoine, abbot. Oil painting on wood. XVIth century. Genoese School (?).
13 - Panel depicting Saint Roch. Circa 1530. Tempera (or oil?) on wood. "Painting by conscientious but mediocre copyist of another Saint Roch by François Bréa" (G. Leclerc).
14 - Altarpiece by Nice painter Louis (or Ludovic) Bréa (c. 1450 - c. 1523) for the church of Saint Nicolas, during Reverend Antoine Testa’s parsonage (see lower in the text). The altarpiece is incomplete: four panels have disappeared (the predella and the back). Eighteen are left. Tempera painting on wood. Unskilfully restored on several occasions over the years, it has suffered far more from shoddy workmanship than from the ravage of time. The old frame vanished when it was moved from the church of Saint Nicolas, as did the inscription of the coast of arms of Jean Grimaldi, Lord of Monaco (1468-1505), which mentioned the date of completion by Ludovic (Louis ) Bréa, a citizen of Nice, as the 20th August 1500, as well as the names of the benefactors.
Amongst the saints depicted around Saint Nicolas, seated on an Episcopal throne, are Saint Laurent, Saint Devote, the martyr’s palm in hand, Saint Barbe, Saint John the Baptist, etc.
The altarpiece was funded by Monegasque benefactors. The name of one of them has been recorded - Charlot Beconi – who donated one florin on 4th September 1497 for this purpose.
15 - Former burial Chapel of the Princes. The Chapel is temporarily closed as it is being used to restore three altarpieces (see lower in the text).
In a crypt under the chapel lie the burial remains of the Lords and Princes of Monaco which were moved into the tombs around the ambulatory.
Beneath the marble canopy above the altar, there is a reliquary containing relics of Saint Devote. First third of the XVIIth century. Glazed sarcophagus with black lacquered wood posts, lined with repoussé silver leaf, and silver feet. At the top, a small reliquary statue of Saint Jerome. The reliquary was dug up in 1814 with the remains of a larger reliquary that contained, amongst other things, relics of Saint Jerome – hence the small statue in his effigy -, a reliquary that featured on the inventory established upon the death of Prince Antoine I (1661-1731).
Saint Pius V, Pope. Oil painting on canvas. XVIIIth century. Anon.
16 - Saint John the Baptist, by Bernardin Mimault, or Mimaut, from Aix-en-Provence. Dates from 1640. Second (back) section of the sealing panel from the old organs in the church of Saint Nicolas (see n° 17 and 18).
17 - Saint Honoré, by B. Mimault. 1640. Saint Honoré, Bishop of Amiens in the VIth century, patron saint of Prince Honoré II, and because of this, highly revered in Monaco throughout the XVIIth century. The painting once formed the back of one of the sealing panels of the organs. (see n° 16 and 18).
18 - Annunciation by B. Mimault. 1640. Oil painting on canvas. Originally cut in the middle to form two sealing panels for an organ in the church of Saint Nicolas in the XVIIth century (today in Saint-Charles’s in Monte-Carlo) ordered by Honoré II (see n° 16 and 17)
19 - Pulpit nave on the east side, 5th bay. Coloured marble, bronze soundboard. Built in 1931 following the plans of F. Auréglia, Monegasque architect, by sculptors Agliardi, father & sons.
The cathedral also houses three recently restored altarpieces:
* the first altarpiece, Pietà said to be of Reverend Antoine Teste or Testa, reverend of Saint-Nicolas’ and sponsor of the work, completed on 1st April 1505, attributed nowadays either to Louis Bréa’s studio(G. Leclerc), or to Louis Bréa himself (M. Baby-Pabion). Altarpiece in seven sections: the lateral panels are not by the same hand as the central one.
In the centre, at the feet of the Cross, the Virgin Mary holds the Saviour on her knee. On the right, Mary-Madeleine kneels, on the left, Saint John. The donator, Antoine Teste, is represented kneeling at the feet of Saint John. The Passion of Christ is depicted on the six lateral panels.
It is worth mentioning the significance of the landscapes that replace the monochrome background, an innovation in altarpiece art.
The second altarpiece (Pietà, said to be of the White Penitents), once decorated the Chapel of the Penitents. Painted by François Bréa (1495-1562), nephew and colleague of Louis Bréa, the work dates from around 1500-1505 by G. Leclerc.
This altarpiece is very simple: a large panel rests on a predella. At both ends of the predella, a penitent kneels, in habit. The red circular stain on the back of their clothing, blood, is a reminder of auto flagellation that the penitents used to inflict upon themselves, and could be proof that such practices took place in Monaco – a practice that has not been confirmed in any written document.
The third altarpiece of Saint Devote, Saint George and Saint Lucie was a gift from Isabelle Grimaldi (?-1583), wife of Honoré I, represented in miniature, kneeling at the bottom of the panel. Estimated date: 1560-1570. Author unknown. The painting has many repainted sections.
Other treasures of art
In the vestry (cannot be seen by the public): a small reliquary in gilded wood with relics of Saint Nicolas, a donation from a Monegasque woman in 1777. A reliquary of Saint-Devote, another of Saint Roman, of Saints Peter and Paul, dating from the XVIIIth century. Gilded or silver chalices, ciboriums and monstrances, Italian silver and gold plate (Genoa) from the XVIIIth century, etc. Lithurgical clothing from the XVIII and XIXth centuries.
Lapidary Museum
Outside, at the chevet on the little square named Don Pacchiero (former reverend of Monaco in the XVIIth century), the architectural remains of the old Church of Saint Nicolas (destroyed in 1874) have been gathered together: pedestals, entablatures, columns, chapiters, one of which dates back to 1537, to the coat of arms of the Grimaldis recalling a stage in the construction of Saint Nicolas by Etienne Grimaldi and Honoré Grimaldi, etc. Relics from the chapels of the Ange Gardien (Guardian Angel) (1658) and Saint Anthony of Padua (1654).
Fixed on the outer wall of the chevet is the old church bell from Saint Nicolas’, smelt in 1484, remade and resmelt under the rule of Prince Charles III, in 1873, by Giacomo Semeria (inscription in Latin).
Organs
Since it was first built, the cathedral has had various instruments played in its gallery above the narthex. Today, it boasts a French-style 60-stop organ built in 1975 by organ makers Boisseau from Poitiers. The organ unfortunately needed a complete overhaul in 1987. The restoration was entrusted to Tamburini in Crema (Italy), as the Prince’s Government and the National Commission of Organs were intent on having an organ worthy of the Cathedral. The restoration was painstakingly and artistically carried out resulting in the 4840 pipes playing magnificently once again. It was inaugurated on 29th May 1988 by Philippe Lefebvre, titular organist of Notre-Dame in Paris and by René Saorgin, titular organist of Monaco Cathedral.
The present-day choir organ, located in the transept on the right, was built in 1980 by Tamburini to replace a Merklin from 1884, overhauled in 1952 by the Maison Puget, and electrified in 1969. With a German baroque allure, similar to the one German organ builders Hermans constructed in the XVIIth century for Lucca Cathedral (Italy), it has a movable case with five pipe-flats on the façade and one on each side, with a keyboard “en fenêtre”: 56 notes in the main organ, 56 in the swell and a pedal board of 32 notes.
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