| Antibes Cathedral Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Immaculée-Conception d'Antibes | |
|---|---|
 Antibes Cathedral | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Province | Diocese of Nice |
| Region | Alpes-Maritimes |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Cathedral |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | Antibes,France |
 Interactive map of Antibes Cathedral Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Immaculée-Conception d'Antibes | |
| Coordinates | 43°34′52″N7°7′42″E / 43.58111°N 7.12833°E /43.58111; 7.12833 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | church |
| Groundbreaking | 5th century |
| Completed | 18th century |
Antibes Cathedral (French:Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Immaculée-Conception d'Antibes orCathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Platea d'Antibes) is aRoman Catholic church located in the town ofAntibes on theFrench Riviera,France. It is a listed and protected historic monument.
Local tradition maintains that apagan temple dedicated to the Roman goddessesDiana andMinerva once stood on the site, and thatSt Paul stopped here to preach in AD 63, during ajourney to Spain.[1]
The Bishopric of Antibes was established c.450 byPope Leo I, the first two bishops being Armentarius andAgroecius.[2] 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 theMerovingian era.[1]
The cathedral was destroyed during a raid on Antibes bySaracen pirates in 1124, and rebuilt on the initiative ofBerenguer Ramon, Count of Provence; thechoir, the oldest surviving part of the cathedral structure, dates to this phase of construction.[1] Further raids followed over the next century or so, and in 1244 the bishops relocated toGrasse to escape their depredations. Thebishops remained there for the next five centuries, despite an attempt to lure them back to Antibes by rebuilding the cathedral in 1250.[3][4]
The cathedral was destroyed yet again in the eighteenth century, this time byAustrian bombardment during the 1746-7Siege of Antibes.Louis XV of France 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.
TheBishopric of Grasse was suppressed during theFrench Revolution and was not restored by theConcordat of 1801; instead its territory, including Antibes, was assigned to theDiocese of Nice.
The Cathedral, along with the adjoining Chapel of the Holy Spirit and the nearbyTour Grimaldi, was added to the French Ministry of Culture’s List of Historic Monuments in 1945.[5]
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 painterLouis Brea. Also of note are the cathedral's carved walnut doors, which depictSaint Roch andSaint Sebastian, the two patron saints of Antibes, and were made c.1710 by the Antibois sculptor Jacques Dolle.[1]
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