L‘église Notre Dame d’Esperance (The Church of Notre Dame d’Esperance)
- Cannes church arch
“Architecture, church architecture, describes visually the idea of the sacred, which is a fundamental need of man. Mankind has been capable of creating for itself this very particular kind of space. There is a great mystery in a church. For me it is a great privilege to be confronted with the design of a church, because it shelters the most powerful themes of humanity: birth, marriage, death.” By Mario Botta, Architect, in the book, Churches, by Judith Dupre (2001).
Perched at the top of Le Suquet hill overlooking Cannes, France is the centuries old Église Notre Dame d’Esperance. Église is French for ‘church.’ The church on the hill above the old port was originally a fortress, erected in the 11th century, to protect what was at the time a fortified village. The structure was both offensive and defensive providing a base from which raids could be launched as well as protection from enemies such as pirates and invasions. The design of the fortress is medieval, probably originally built with earth and timber, replaced later with rusticated stone as you see it today—where the front facade is early Gothic and has pointed spheres soaring heavenward. Stained-glass windows are prevalent in traditional Gothic where rays of sunlight pour through the high stained-glass, rose-medallion windows and buttresses support the structure. Over the centuries, the church, which was used by fishermen for prayer, was referred to as Suquet Castle. The bell tower was completed in the 14th century. The clock was added to the bell tower later, probably around 1815, about the time Napoleon visited and marched through the town. It has been a fortress, a monks’ castle, the church mentioned here, and now a cinema/museum.
The interior of the church displays art works, busts, and altarpieces. On the High Altar stands St Anne and a 17th century statue of a “Vierge Couronnée,” (Virgin with a crown) holding a ship’s anchor. There is a selection of 19th century paintings including a fresco by George Roux depicting the baptism of Jesus. The eight chapels of the church have links to the craft guilds of France going back to the 17th Century. One end of the church has a Romanesque chapel used years ago as a refuge. Inside the chapel, boat models sit at the feet of the Saints. This was when downtown Cannes was created—before that the main village was in the Saint Cassien neighborhood, which is around the Cannes airport. For centuries the main city in the region was Grasse, located 15 km to the north of Cannes.
About Cannes Le Suquet is the old quarter of Cannes, probably best known to tourists as the climbing, winding cobbled lane, Rue St Antoine, a pedestrian street lined with local restaurants. At the bottom of Le Suquet on Rue Dr. P. Gazagnaire is the Marché Forville, where the market is held in the mornings and early afternoon. The area was the original fisherman’s residential area of Cannes. The streets were laid out at least 400 years ago—some of the houses could be 200 years old. It is a 5-minute walk from the beach. Much of the area is pedestrianized and is a major tourist attraction. The Rue du Suquet is the original main road into Cannes.
Cannes was made popular as a resort when former British Royal Chancellor Lord Brougham stayed there from 1834. He popularized the town amongst royalty, artists and writers. Since then it has been visited by the rich and famous for the great winter climate. Prosper Mérimée, Guy de Maupassant, Domergue, Chateaubriand, JMW Turner, Victor Hugo, Stendhal, Picabia, Renoir and Picasso have connections with Cannes. The French government decided to create an international film festival just before the Second World War and chose Cannes for its location on the Riviera. The plans were put on hold until the end of the war, and in 1946 the first Film Festival was held. This gave Cannes the status of a city for movie stars, which attracted a lot of tourism. High-end hotels, restaurants and luxury shops developed and the reputation of Cannes as a city for the wealthy spread even more. Today Cannes is still just that: a town living on high end tourism. Each year in July during the “Nuits Musicales du Suquet” classical music is played on the square outside the church.
Have you been to Cannes? What do you know about the film festival?
Lovely pictures. I’ve been to Cannes many times and never tire of it.
Ellen, thank you for your comment. Do you travel a great deal, or is Cannes a favorite to return to over and over?
Very interesting post, Gail. I, too am interested in architecture, if only from a visual POV. I always notice old buildings (and photograph them, if I can) when we visit somewhere new, and I love to touch an old building. It seems to give me sense of ‘connection’, somehow.
It’s fascinating to think that William the Conqueror was probably familiar with the Église Notre Dame d’Esperance when it was in its first incarnation as a fortress. He loved Cannes and spent much time there.
Thanks for sharing this. Most enjoyable.
Well thank you Màiri, I appreciate the comment. I love writing, designing, building and the history of architecture. Yes it is fascinating about Wm II familiar with Église Notre Dame d’Esperance in the early years. Thanks for sharing. Next week we are talking about William II.
Fascinating, all of it. I was intrigued that it was in part a cinema now. What part? It always makes me sad to see these churches that no longer have their original role, although if the change enables the buildings to endure, that has to be worth something. I’m much more familiar with English churches, and I recognize they present such problems now–the oldest ones are literally falling apart, and yet there simply isn’t the money to repair an maintain all of them!
Well, here is the hallloooo.
Awesome post (chuckle). loved it. You take so much trouble to give us all the details. Every historical writer should visit it.
Well done.
Hmmm. Thanks Charl. Awesome (chuckle) comment. I dooooo appreciate your encouragement. You noticed the details, so impressive.
I do not know the churches of France as have’nt seen any except Notre Dame in Paris. I looked at some churches in Germany , the USA, and England. I look forward to your blogs on English churches. I think my favorite is Salisbury but I also like York Minster they each have a different view of God and faith, IMO.
This was interesting.
Nancy, thanks for the comment. I am open for questions as well. Notre Dame is the epitome of Gothic architecture. It is the star of the era.
I agree with PJ. You are a wealth of knowledge, lady!
I loved going through the old churches of Italy. I’m sure I would love France, too.
As always, thank you for sharing your expertise with us. Your posts are most helpful to writers.
Thank you Katy. I love doing them. It’s almost like being back in front of design/architecture students again. Look for more, I will be doing a series from about 10th century forward. Thanks always for your encouragement.
Holy cow, Gail. I’m always so impressed with your research skills. I didn’t find any of this wonderful information in my harried search. You have brought the church–and Cannes–to life for me and I am bookmarking this page to use tidbits for my new WIP. Thanks so much for doing this!
I was in Cannes briefly on my trip to the Mediterranean, but we took the bus tour to Grasse and to the perfyume factory. Being allergic to fragrances, I’m afraid my trip was “tainted” by a bad experience. I’d love to go back and walk the Boulevard through the town and make the trek up to the church so I can see all the beauthiful characteristics you described. For now, we’ll let Lexi and Ethan enjoy it:-)
Paula, thank you. I had mega trouble with Firefox, as in the last three weeks. It even posted on the day before date, the 7th, when I had posted after midnight on the 8th. I am in Safari now, revamping. I would appreciate you looking again when I am done. I will send you, “You can look again” notice. Some of it will have changed. Is that an affirmative?
Are your sons there now? I had mega fun researching this one. Btw my library and the internet and what i know, i was able to cull the info. Be sure to check out the revised one. Firefox was a bear last night and i could not do everything I wanted, but Safari today was much more friendly Thanks for commenting.