St-Bernardin (Antibes)

Entrance facade of the chapel

The Chapelle Saint-Bernardin or Chapelle des Pénitents blancs is a chapel in the center of the city of Antibes in southern France . It is dedicated to St. Bernardine of Siena , a Tuscan Franciscan who became famous for his sermons .

The chapel was added to the list of historical monuments ( monument historique ) on March 13, 1995 .

history

The current building was built on Roman foundations , and there was already a place of worship on the site in ancient times . According to local historians M. Muterse and M. Dhumez , the chapel was built either in 1513 or 1581 by the "White Penitent Brothers " ( Pénitents blancs de Saint-Bernardin ), who had their wedding in the 15th century. The side door made of solid walnut wood in the Rue Saint-Bernardin is dated March 20, 1581.

After a catastrophic fire in the 1970s, the chapel was restored in 2007 and reopened to the public in 2008.

Outside

The facade on Rue Rostan is in the Gothic style . The entrance is crowned by pinnacles with hooded penitential brothers depicted. A Lucifer head is carved directly above the portal .

Indoor

The altar is adorned with four winding columns in the Baroque style, which are gilded and decorated with acanthus leaves. Behind it is an apse dome with a bell tower . The frescoes that adorn the dome show the apostles and date from the 16th century. The altarpiece from the 17th century probably comes from the Cordonniers monastery, which was located on the Place de la Poste and was destroyed in 1920.

On the central ceiling the four evangelists Matthew , John , Mark and Luke are painted illusionistically , as well as the Virgin Mary and St. Bernardine in the middle. In the middle there are two Latin sentences: Ecce Deus Salvator Meus ("This is God my Savior") and In me omnis spes vitæ et virtutis ("In me all hope of virtue.").